Brief description of media:

Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) describes new or worsening physical, cognitive, or mental impairments in a patient following critical illness or intensive care. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely result in many more patients with PICS and its associated health and economic challenges. Screening and assessment tools should be utilized during hospitalization, at discharge, and post discharge to facilitate services and strategies to improve PICS outcomes for patients and their families.

Brief description of media:

One thing that did not make to the spotlight in this COVID-19 pandemic is a question that what happens to the COVID-19 patients after they are discharged from the critical care? A common assumption around the world is that once a patient is discharged from the hospital and is tested negative the problem is resolved. This may be based on a relative lack of information and knowledge, even among the health care professionals, regarding a condition described as Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). PICS may be a next public health crisis that we may face when this acute form of COVID-19 crisis settles down a bit.

Brief description of media:

One thing that did not make to the spotlight in this COVID-19 pandemic is a question that what happens to the COVID-19 patients after they are discharged from the critical care? A common assumption around the world is that once a patient is discharged from the hospital and is tested negative the problem is resolved. This may be based on a relative lack of information and knowledge, even among the health care professionals, regarding a condition described as Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS).

Brief description of media:

According to a medical report by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), millions of patients are usually admitted to ICU annually in which a third of this population require a ventilator for breathing purposes. They are critically ill and after leaving the ICU, most of them develop health complications related to their injury, illness, ventilator and other treatments. In most cases, such issues are hardly treated and continue after a patient leaves the health sector. Notably, sepsis, delirium, and respiratory distress syndrome may increase the chances of a person experiencing these health issues. There has been an advancement of healthcare with a motive of improving outcomes for these patients as well as their recovery.

Brief description of media:

Today, a patient was discharged after an extended stay in the hospital. As we do for many patients who have survived COVID-19, we celebrated the patient's discharge. Staff who had cared for the patient lined the halls — smiling, clapping and some even had tears in their eyes. There were balloons, and a celebratory song was played over the loudspeaker as the nurse wheeled the patient to their spouse, who was eager and ready to take their loved one home at last. As a hospital chaplain, I know the value of having a case like this patient, to the family, certainly, but also to the medical community. When illness feels overwhelming, having someone who was so sick recover so beautifully changes the mood of all those who worked with them. For many staff in our hospital, this patient was our miracle — that ray of hope that reminded us even the sickest person can get better.

Brief description of media:

Many patients who have been in the intensive care unit often experience ‘post-intensive care syndrome’ when they return home. The phenomenon, which is still relatively unknown to the general public and the healthcare sector, can cause physical, psychological, and cognitive problems. “It is a misunderstood aspect of the pandemic,” reports the Federal Health Care Knowledge Center (KCE).

Brief description of media:

Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) is a group of health problems that can include physical impairments, mental health issues, and cognitive difficulties following a critical illness or hospital stay. Critical diseases can consist of but are not limited to heart attacks, stroke, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, motor vehicle accident, burns, and surgical problems. Nearly one million people are admitted to the ICU each year, with close to a third requiring ventilation. Sepsis, delirium, and acute respiratory distress syndrome increase the odds of being diagnosed with PICS.

Brief description of media:

Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) describes a set of disorders that are common in patients with severe illness and / or intensive care. Since the majority of the literature in intensive care medicine focuses on short-term outcomes (for example, survival), understanding of the patient's long-term development is relatively limited, since the latter is then considered to be healed. Cognitive impairment includes deficits in memory, attention, speed of mental processing and problem solving. These impairments affect up to 80% of people who have experienced a serious illness. Most patients' symptoms improve or even disappear completely within the first year after treatment in the intensive care unit. The underlying pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in critical care survivors is not well understood, but prolonged inflammation can play an important role.

Brief description of media:

Survival of critically unwell patients has improved in the last decade due to advances in critical care medicine. Some of these survivors develop cognitive, psychiatric and /or physical disability after treatment in intensive care unit (ICU), which is now recognized as post intensive care syndrome (PICS). Given the limited awareness about PICS in the medical faculty this aspect is often overlooked which may lead to reduced quality of life and cause a lot of suffering of these patients and their families.
Efforts should be directed towards preventing PICS by minimizing sedation and early mobilization during ICU. All critical care survivors should be evaluated for PICS and those having signs and symptoms of it should be managed by a multidisciplinary team which includes critical care physician, neuropsychiatrist, physiotherapist, and respiratory therapist, with the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This can be achieved through an organizational change and improvement, knowing the high rate of incidence of PICS and its adverse effects on the survivor’s life and daily activities and its effect on the survivor’s family.

Brief description of media:

Survival of critically unwell patients has improved in the last decade due to advances in critical care medicine. Some of these survivors develop cognitive, psychiatric and /or physical disability after treatment in intensive care unit (ICU), which is now recognized as post intensive care syndrome (PICS). Given the limited awareness about PICS in the medical faculty this aspect is often overlooked which may lead to reduced quality of life and cause a lot of suffering of these patients and their families.

Efforts should be directed towards preventing PICS by minimizing sedation and early mobilization during ICU. All critical care survivors should be evaluated for PICS and those having signs and symptoms of it should be managed by a multidisciplinary team which includes critical care physician, neuropsychiatrist, physiotherapist, and respiratory therapist, with the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This can be achieved through an organizational change and improvement, knowing the high rate of incidence of PICS and its adverse effects on the survivor’s life and daily activities and its effect on the survivor’s family.

Brief description of media:

Survival of critically unwell patients has improved in the last decade due to advances in critical care medicine. Some of these survivors develop cognitive, psychiatric and /or physical disability after treatment in intensive care unit (ICU), which is now recognized as post intensive care syndrome (PICS). Given the limited awareness about PICS in the medical faculty this aspect is often overlooked which may lead to reduced quality of life and cause a lot of suffering of these patients and their families.

Efforts should be directed towards preventing PICS by minimizing sedation and early mobilization during ICU. All critical care survivors should be evaluated for PICS and those having signs and symptoms of it should be managed by a multidisciplinary team which includes critical care physician, neuropsychiatrist, physiotherapist, and respiratory therapist, with the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This can be achieved through an organizational change and improvement, knowing the high rate of incidence of PICS and its adverse effects on the survivor’s life and daily activities and its effect on the survivor’s family.

Brief description of media:

The pediatric early versus late parenteral nutrition in critical illness (PEPaNIC) multicenter, randomized, controlled trial showed that, compared with early parenteral nutrition, withholding supplemental parenteral nutrition for 1 week in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU; late parenteral nutrition) reduced infections and accelerated recovery from critical illness in children. We aimed to investigate the long-term impact on physical and neurocognitive development of early versus late parenteral nutrition.