ICU Follow-up After Prolonged Intensive Care Stay

Summary

Treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) for more than five days often leads to chronic physical, cognitive and psychological complaints, such as post-traumatic stress disorders, muscle weakness, depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders. This is referred to as Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). So far, there have been only a few studies investigating this syndrome.

The aim of this pilot study is to test the effectiveness and feasibility of an ICU follow-up clinic, which our study team developed in a participatory process involving patients, caregivers, health care providers and researcher.

For this purpose, the participants will be randomly assigned to a group with treatment in this follow-up clinic or to a group with usual care. Both groups will then be compared.

Conditions

• Critical Illness
• PICS
• Post Intensive Care Syndrome

Interventions

OTHER

ICU follow-up clinic

The intervention aims at improving health-related quality of life and will contain three components: information, consultation and networking. More information will be available for the participants from the intensive care stay onwards, e.g. an information brochure, and during the entire follow-up period, e.g. by contacting the outpatient clinic via telephone. Participants will be invited to visit the ICU follow-up clinic at least once during the first six months after discharge from ICU. During the visits, participants will be screened for symptoms of PICS and, if required, referred to specialists for further treatment. The aim of the networking part is to improve the exchange between the health sectors and disciplines, e.g. through a special referral letter from the ICU follow-up clinic, and thus to provide a network of outpatient care providers for the former ICU patients.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Regensburg

  collaborator OTHER

• University Hospital Regensburg

  collaborator OTHER

• Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christian J Apfelbacher, Prof.Dr.PhD · Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-06-11

Primary Completion

2021-03-15

Completion

2021-05-31

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations