Mental health-related quality of life is related to delirium in intensive care patients.

Purpose: Delirium during intensive care unit (ICU) stay may be related to premorbid mental illness. In addition, delirium during ICU stay may also negatively affect long-term health-related quality of life. The aim of our study was to investigate if delirium in the ICU is related to premorbid mental quality of life and affects long-term mental quality of life after ICU stay.

Health-related quality of life in ICU survivors-10 years later.

Many Intensive Care (ICU) survivors experience long lasting impairments in physical and psychological health as well as social functioning. The objective of our study was to evaluate these effects up to 10 years after ICU discharge. We performed a long-term prospective cohort study in patients admitted for longer than 48 h in a medical-surgical ICU.

SICQ Coping and the Health-Related Quality of Life and Recovery of Critically Ill ICU Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The coping styles of the Sickness Insight in Coping Questionnaire (SICQ; positivism, redefinition, toughness, fighting spirit, nonacceptance) may affect the health and recovery of hospitalized critically ill patients.

Research Question: Do the SICQ coping styles of hospitalized critically ill patients relate to the patients health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and recovery?

Study Design And Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in a single university-affiliated Dutch hospital. Participants were critically ill adult patients admitted to a mixed medical-surgical ICU (start: n = 417; pre-ICU: n = 391; hospital discharge: n = 350; 3-month follow-up: n = 318; 6-month follow-up: n = 308; 12-month follow-up: n = 285).

SURvival PRediction In SEverely Ill Patients Study-The Prediction of Survival in Critically Ill Patients by ICU Physicians.

Unlabelled: The surprise question, "Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?" is a tool to identify patients at high risk of death in the next year. Especially in the situation of an ICU admission, it is important to recognize patients who could and could not have the benefits of an intensive treatment in the ICU department.

Design And Setting: A single-center, prospective, observational cohort study was conducted between April 2013 and April 2018, in ICU Gelre hospitals, location Apeldoorn.

Physical impairment and perceived general health preceding critical illness is predictive of survival.

Purpose: We hypothesized that item response based assessment of physical reserve preceding ICU admission is a predictor of survival.

Methods: We evaluated physical functioning using the Academic Medical Center Linear Disability Score (ALDS) and quality of life using the first question (SF-1) and the physical component score (PCS-12) from the Short-form 12 (SF-12) before admission by patients or by close proxies within 72 h after ICU admission during 1 year.

Results: We developed four logistic regression models to predict 1 year mortality using the predictors age, gender, ALDS, SF-1, PCS-12.

Identifying improvement opportunities for patient- and family-centered care in the ICU: Using qualitative methods to understand family perspectives.

Purpose: The purposes of the study were to provide richer context for families' quantitative assessments of the quality of ICU care, and to describe further quality areas of importance for family members.

Materials And Methods: Free-text comments from 1077 family members of 920 patients focusing on family evaluation of ICU quality of care were analyzed using content analysis. Twenty-one Danish and Dutch ICUs participated from October 2014 to June 2015.

Clinical practices to promote sleep in the ICU: A multinational survey.

Purpose: To describe sleep assessment and strategies to promote sleep in adult ICUs in ten countries.

Methods: Multicenter, self-administered survey sent to nurse managers.

Results: Response rate was 66% with 522 ICUs providing data.

Quality of dying and death in the ICU. The euroQ2 project.

Purpose: Knowledge of families' perspective of quality of intensive care unit (ICU) care is important, especially with regard to end-of-life (EOL) care. Adaptation of the US-developed "Quality of dying and death questionnaire" (QODD) to a European setting is lacking. The primary aim of this study is to examine the euroQODD's usability and its assessments of EOL care in a cohort of Danish and Dutch family members.

Comparing Quality of Dying and Death Perceived by Family Members and Nurses for Patients Dying in US and Dutch ICUs.

Background: The Quality of Dying and Death (QODD) questionnaire is used as a self-reported measure to allow families and clinicians to assess patients' quality of dying and death. We evaluated end-of-life (EOL) experiences as measured by the QODD completed by families and nurses in the United States and the Netherlands to explore similarities and differences in these experiences and identify opportunities for improving EOL care.

Methods: Questionnaire data were gathered from family members of patients dying in the ICU and nurses caring for these patients.

Thiamine Levels During Intensive Insulin Therapy in Critically Ill Patients.

Introduction: Thiamine is an essential cofactor in carbohydrate metabolism, and deficiency can therefore cause various organ dysfunctions. Little is known about the prevalence and possible worsening of thiamine deficiency in critically ill patients. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of thiamine deficiency at admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and hypothesized that intensive insulin therapy, aimed at regulating glucose levels, increases thiamine utilization and therefore might cause or worsen deficiency in patients with limited thiamine stores.

Measuring Adaptive Coping of Hospitalized Patients With a Severe Medical Condition: The Sickness Insight in Coping Questionnaire.

Objectives: Adaptive coping strategies are associated with less psychological distress. However, there is no brief, specific, and validated instrument for assessing adaptive coping among seriously ill patients. Our objective was to examine the validity and patient-proxy agreement of a novel instrument, the Sickness Insight in Coping Questionnaire.

Current Use of Pain Scores in Dutch Intensive Care Units: A Postal Survey in the Netherlands.

Background: Pain is a common problem for critically ill patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and can have serious consequences. For this reason, the appropriate recognition and treatment of pain is of extreme importance. However, pain assessment in critically ill patients can be challenging because these patients are often unable to self-report.

ICU survivors show no decline in health-related quality of life after 5 years.

Purpose: Severe critical illness requiring treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) may have a serious impact on patients and their families. However, optimal follow-up periods are not defined and data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before ICU admission as well as those beyond 2 years follow-up are limited. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of ICU stay up to 5 years after ICU discharge.

The effect of acute kidney injury on long-term health-related quality of life: a prospective follow-up study.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication in critically ill patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We hypothesized that ICU survivors with AKI would have a worse health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcome than ICU survivors without AKI.

Methods: We performed a long-term prospective observational study.

Perception by family members and ICU staff of the quality of dying and death in the ICU: a prospective multicenter study in The Netherlands.

Objective: Admission to the ICU is a major event in a patient’s life and also for family members. We tried to elucidate how family members and ICU caregivers experience the dying process of their patients.

Methods: The prospective study took place in three Dutch ICUs.

Sleep disturbances and sedation practices in the intensive care unit--a postal survey in the Netherlands.

Background: Sleep disturbances are common in critically ill patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) with possible serious consequences.

Objective: The aim of this study was to get insight into sleeping and sedation practices in the adult ICUs in the Netherlands and survey which factors are important with respect to sleep in critically ill patients in the ICU.

Method: A multi-centre, exploratory survey sent via mail to nurse managers of all adult ICUs in the Netherlands.

Changes of health-related quality of life in critically ill octogenarians: a follow-up study.

Background: Intensivists frequently are concerned about whether octogenarians actually will benefit from ICU admission. We studied changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) 6 months following ICU discharge in those patients.

Methods: We performed a long-term prospective study in a medical-surgical ICU.

The Academic Medical Center Linear Disability Score for evaluation of physical reserve on admission to the ICU: can we query the relatives?

Introduction: Evaluating the pre-morbid functional status in critically ill patients is important and frequently done using the physical component score (PCS) of the Short Form 36, although this approach has its limitations. The Academic Medical Center Linear Disability Score (ALDS) is a recently developed generic item bank used to measure the disability status of patients with a broad range of diseases. We aimed to study whether proxy scoring with the ALDS could be used to assess the patients' functional status on admission for cardiac care unit (CCU) or ICU patients and how the ALDS relates to the PCS using the Short Form 12 (SF-12).

Survey into bereavement of family members of patients who died in the intensive care unit.

Background: The death of a family member in the intensive care unit (ICU) is often sudden and unexpected and may have a strong impact on family members.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of bereavement, to find out if there is a need for follow-up bereavement service and to determine if the information and care in the ICU is sufficient for relatives of deceased ICU patients.

Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study using a structured telephone interview in 51 relatives, in a 10 bed adult mixed medical-surgical ICU.

Health-related quality of life in critically ill patients: how to score and what is the clinical impact?

Purpose Of Review: Traditionally, the assessment of critical care has focused largely on mortality. However, in the last few years, there is more attention on the quality of survival. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important issue for both patients and family.

Limitations and practicalities of CAM-ICU implementation, a delirium scoring system, in a Dutch intensive care unit.

Background: Delirium is a frequently missed diagnosis in the intensive care unit (ICU). Implementation of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) may improve recognition of delirium. However, the ICU team may be reluctant to adopt daily assessment by a screening tool.