As many as one in three patients sick enough to require a ventilator might develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety and depression are equally common, if not more so. Others survive critical illness but find themselves forgetful and easily confused, facing cognitive problems that are similar to those in people with mild Alzheimer’s disease or a traumatic brain injury. There is even a name for the constellation of symptoms often experienced by survivors of critical illness – post-intensive care syndrome (PTSD).

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