Every Deep-Drawn Breath: A Critical Care Doctor on Healing, Recovery, and Transforming Medicine in the ICU

Every Deep-Drawn Breath: A Critical Care Doctor on Healing, Recovery, and Transforming Medicine in the ICU

A world-renowned critical care doctor offers hope for ICU patients and their families in this timely, urgent, and compassionate narrative. Over the next ten years, 40 to 60 million people in this country will be admitted... read more

High Rate of PICS Among SICU Survivors

High Rate of PICS Among SICU Survivors

Through the successful implementation of a multidisciplinary critical care outpatient clinic (CCOC), this study identifies an exorbitant rate of postintensive care syndrome (PICS) among surgical intensive care unit (SICU)... read more

Mental Health Morbidity Among Caregivers

Mental Health Morbidity Among Caregivers

While much of the research on post-ICU mental health morbidity has focused upon the survivors themselves, emerging data shows that caregivers of ICU patients are similarly impacted. The collective sequelae experienced... read more

Prevalence of PICS in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with COVID-19

Prevalence of PICS in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients usually require long periods of mechanical ventilation and sedation, which added to steroid therapy, favours a predisposition to the development of delirium and subsequent mental... read more

Development of Persistent Respiratory Morbidity in Previously Healthy Children After ARF

Development of Persistent Respiratory Morbidity in Previously Healthy Children After ARF

Persistent respiratory morbidity develops in up to potentially 44% of previously healthy children less than or equal to 24 months old at follow-up after acute respiratory failure (ARF) requiring mechanical ventilation. This... read more

Models of Peer Support to Remediate Post-Intensive Care Syndrome

Models of Peer Support to Remediate Post-Intensive Care Syndrome

A number of different models of peer support are currently being developed to help patients and families recover and grow in the post-critical care setting. Via an iterative process of in-person and email/conference calls,... read more

Critical Care Opioids Impact in the 21st Century

Critical Care Opioids Impact in the 21st Century

Critical Care is impacted by opioids in multiple ways. Not only do they form the backbone of managing pain and sedation in the intensive care unit (ICU), the burgeoning opioid epidemic also feeds into opioid-related ICU admissions.... read more

Stress Management Intervention to Prevent PICS-Family in Patients’ Spouses

Stress Management Intervention to Prevent PICS-Family in Patients’ Spouses

Sensation Awareness Focused Training (SĀF-T) intervention during the ICU stay is feasible, acceptable, and may improve family caregivers' post-ICU outcomes. Larger clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of SĀF-T in... read more

Post-ICU Clinics and Peer Support Groups to Reduce PICS

Post-ICU Clinics and Peer Support Groups to Reduce PICS

Kyle B. Enfield, MD, and Kimberley J. Haines, PhD, BHSc, discuss implementing post-ICU clinics and peer support groups following critical illness to help reduce the burden of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Dr. Haines... read more

Improving Outcomes for ICU Survivors

Improving Outcomes for ICU Survivors

In response to the many challenges faced by ICU survivors today, there has been an increasing need to relieve this burden. Despite that many clinical trials have been implemented to find new strategies, post-intensive care... read more

Key Enablers and Barriers for Improving ICU Outcomes

Key Enablers and Barriers for Improving ICU Outcomes

Several enablers and barriers to implementing ICU follow-up clinics and peer support groups should be taken into account and leveraged to improve ICU recovery. Among the most important enablers are motivated clinician leaders... read more

ARDS Survivors Often Leave ICU with Prolonged PICS

ARDS Survivors Often Leave ICU with Prolonged PICS

Patients who survive acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) often leave ICU with debilitating mental, physical, or cognitive problems that may limit their quality of life. These challenges are called post-intensive care... read more

Approaches to Addressing PICS Among ICU Survivors

Approaches to Addressing PICS Among ICU Survivors

Critical illness can be lethal and devastating to survivors. Improvements in acute care have increased the number of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. These survivors confront a range of new or worsened health states that... read more

Social and Economic Problems of ICU Survivors Identified by a Structured Social Welfare Consultation

Social and Economic Problems of ICU Survivors Identified by a Structured Social Welfare Consultation

Despite over a decade of trials, no outpatient intervention has demonstrated any measurable improvement in the poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) patients experience following critical illness [1, 2]. One novel avenue... read more