Patients who survive long stays in the intensive care unit (ICU), such as those who receive prolonged mechanical ventilation, will most often require continued assistance from a caregiver more than a year after ICU discharge. The effects of this responsibility on the family caregivers are not well known but may include such negative consequences as poor health-related quality of life, emotional distress, a subjective sense of burden, and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder

Increasing numbers of survivors of critical illness are at risk for physical, cognitive, and/or mental health impairments that may persist for months or years after hospital discharge. The post-intensive care syndrome framework encompassing these multidimensional morbidities was developed at the 2010 Society of Critical Care Medicine conference on improving long-term outcomes after critical illness for survivors and their families.

Background: Millions of patients are discharged from intensive care units annually. These intensive care survivors and their families frequently report a wide range of impairments in their health status which may last for months and years after hospital discharge.. Conclusions: Improving care for intensive care survivors and their families requires collaboration between practitioners and researchers in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Strategies were developed to address the major themes arising from the conference to improve outcomes for survivors and families.