Background: The ICU (intensive care unit) involves potentially traumatic work for the professionals who work there. This narrative review seeks to identify the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among ICU professionals; how PTSD has been assessed; the risk factors associated with PTSD; and the psychological support proposed.
Methods: Three databases and editorial portals were used to identify full-text articles published in English between 2009 and 2022 using the PRISMA method.
Purpose: Data are scarce regarding the experience of critically ill patients at high risk of death. Identifying their concerns could allow clinicians to better meet their needs and align their end-of-life trajectory with their preferences and values. We aimed to identify concerns expressed by conscious patients at high risk of dying in the intensive care unit (ICU).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intensive care units (ICU) are among the healthcare services most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Stressors related to insecurity, unpredictability, patient death and family distress are significant, and put healthcare workers (HCWs) at high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aims of this study were to measure the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in HCWs and to identify risk factors and protective factors during the epidemic in France.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe intensive care psychologist was strongly mobilised during the COVID-19 health crisis. His clinical practice is both specific, with regard to the situations of extreme suffering that he is led to encounter, but also plural, as he is faced with the intersecting vulnerabilities of patients, families and carers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on mental health of professionals working in the intensive care unit (ICU) according to the intensity of the epidemic in France.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in 77 French hospitals from April 22 to May 13 2020. All ICU frontline healthcare workers were eligible.
Ann Intensive Care
April 2021
Intensive care unit professionals have experience in critical care and its proportionality, collegial decision-making, withholding or withdrawal of treatment deemed futile, and communication with patients' relatives. These elements rely on ethical values from which we must not deviate in a pandemic situation. The recommendations made by the Ethics Commission of the French Intensive Care Society reflect an approach of responsibility and solidarity towards our citizens regarding the potential impact of a pandemic on critical care resources in France, with the fundamental requirement of respect for human dignity and equal access to health care for all.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF