Existing data on the prevalence of mental health impairments (MHI) following sepsis and intensive care are based predominantly on self-reported symptoms assessed by using questionnaires, small sample sizes, and clinically heterogeneous sample populations.

In this study, we used physician diagnoses in clinical practice to estimate administrative prevalence and incidence rates of MHI in a large sample of survivors of ICU-treated sepsis.

Future research should shed light on the differences in prevalence and incidence rates related to variations in assessment methods, data sources, study designs, and sampling methods.

Based on our finding, that the administrative prevalence of any MHI is 54.8 % in the first year after sepsis, about 22,000 post-sepsis patients who were treated at the ICU would suffer from mental disorders in Germany per year.

Read More