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, neuro-psychiatrist, 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, neuro-psychiatrist, physiotherapist and respiratory therapist,with the use of pharmacological and non-apharmacological 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. Key words: cognition, critical illness, intensive care, syndrome

Brief description of media:

Background: Family members of children hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) can develop cognitive, psychological, and physical manifestations of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS).Targeted education to help parents/caregivers recognize the signs and symptoms of PICS may result in better awareness of the syndrome and greater willingness to seek and receive support during their child’s PICU admission.
Objective: to evaluate three targeted PICS educational interventions to increase PICS awareness among parents/caregivers in the St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) PICU.
Results:Atotal of 62 parents/caregivers received one of three educational interventions:informational brochures (n=22), scripted informational conversation (n=20), or three-minute educational video (n=20). An additional 19 bedside nurses completed surveys to describe how each educational intervention affected daily work flow. Changes in parental/caregiver PICS fund of knowledgewas evaluated using Fischer’s exact test. All three educational interventions were associated with a significant improvement in understanding of PICS, with no single intervention being superior. Nursing surveys indicated that work flow was minimally disrupted using PICS education and that all interventions were perceived to be important and useful.
Conclusions:Targeted educational interventions led to improvement in knowledge about PICS among parents/caregivers and were well supported by PICU nursing staff. Thus, providing support for a sustainable implementation of PICS education in the SLCH PICU.

Brief description of media:

Millions of people worldwide have survived an
admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and
the number of survivors is growing [1]. While
these patients have survived a life-threatening
illness, most survivors suffer important long-term
complications [2]. Post-intensive care syndrome
(PICS) is a term that describes the cognitive,
psychological, physical and other consequences
that plague ICU survivors [3, 4]. Our aim is to discuss
the prevalence, risk factors, impact, prevention and
management of PICS.

Brief description of media:

Millions of people worldwide have survived an admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and the number of survivors is growing. While these patients have survived a life-threatening illness, most survivors suffer important long-term complications. Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a term that describes the cognitive, psychological, physical and other consequences that plague ICU survivors. Our aim is to discuss the prevalence, risk factors, impact, prevention and management of PICS

Brief description of media:

Expanding elderly populations are a major social challenge in advanced countries worldwide and have led to a rapid increase in the number of elderly patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Innovative advances in medical technology have enabled lifesaving of patients in ICUs, but there remain various problems to improve their long-term prognoses. Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) refers to physical, cognition, and mental impairments that occur during ICU stay, after ICU discharge or hospital discharge, as well as the long-term prognosis of ICU patients. Its concept also applies to pediatric patients (PICS-p) and the mental status of their family (PICS-F). Intensive care unit-acquired weakness, a syndrome characterized by acute symmetrical limb muscle weakness after ICU admission, belongs to physical impairments in three domains of PICS. Prevention of PICS requires performance of the ABCDEFGH bundle, which incorporates the prevention of delirium, early rehabilitation, family intervention, and follow-up from the time of ICU
admission to the time of discharge. Diary, nutrition, nursing care, and environmental management for healing are also important in the prevention of PICS. This review outlines the pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions of PICS.

Brief description of media:

Expanding elderly populations are a major social challenge in advanced countries worldwide and have led to a rapid increase in the number of elderly patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Innovative advances in medical technology have enabled lifesaving of patients in ICUs, but there remain various problems to improve their long-term prognoses. Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) refers to physical, cognition, and mental impairments that occur during ICU stay, after ICU discharge or hospital discharge, as well as the long-term prognosis of ICU patients. Its concept also applies to pediatric patients (PICS-p) and the mental status of their family (PICS-F). Intensive care unit-acquired weakness, a syndrome characterized by acute symmetrical limb muscle weakness after ICU admission, belongs to physical impairments in three domains of PICS. Prevention of PICS requires performance of the ABCDEFGH bundle, which incorporates the prevention of delirium, early rehabilitation, family intervention, and follow-up from the time of ICU
admission to the time of discharge. Diary, nutrition, nursing care, and environmental management for healing are also important in the prevention of PICS. This review outlines the pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions of PICS.

Brief description of media:

Expanding elderly populations are a major social challenge in advanced countries worldwide and have led to a rapid increase in the number of elderly patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Innovative advances in medical technology have enabled lifesaving of patients in ICUs, but there remain various problems to improve their long‐term prognoses. Post‐intensive care syndrome (PICS) refers to physical, cognition, and mental impairments that occur during ICU stay, after ICU discharge or hospital discharge, as well as the long‐term prognosis of ICU patients. Its concept also applies to pediatric patients (PICS‐p) and the mental status of their family (PICS‐F). Intensive care unit‐acquired weakness, a syndrome characterized by acute symmetrical limb muscle weakness after ICU admission, belongs to physical impairments in three domains of PICS. Prevention of PICS requires performance of the ABCDEFGH bundle, which incorporates the prevention of delirium, early rehabilitation, family intervention, and follow‐up from the time of ICU admission to the time of discharge. Diary, nutrition, nursing care, and environmental management for healing are also important in the prevention of PICS. This review outlines the pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions of PICS.

Brief description of media:

Expanding elderly populations are a major social challenge in advanced countries worldwide and have led to a rapid increase in the number of elderly patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Innovative advances in medical technology have enabled lifesaving of patients in ICUs, but there remain various problems to improve their long‐term prognoses. Post‐intensive care syndrome (PICS) refers to physical, cognition, and mental impairments that occur during ICU stay, after ICU discharge or hospital discharge, as well as the long‐term prognosis of ICU patients. Its concept also applies to pediatric patients (PICS‐p) and the mental status of their family (PICS‐F). Intensive care unit‐acquired weakness, a syndrome characterized by acute symmetrical limb muscle weakness after ICU admission, belongs to physical impairments in three domains of PICS. Prevention of PICS requires performance of the ABCDEFGH bundle, which incorporates the prevention of delirium, early rehabilitation, family intervention, and follow‐up from the time of ICU admission to the time of discharge. Diary, nutrition, nursing care, and environmental management for healing are also important in the prevention of PICS. This review outlines the pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions of PICS.

Brief description of media:

Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a rapidly growing phenomenon in older adults. As survival rates from ICU hospitalizations have increased over the past few decades, the long-term cognitive, psychological, and physical sequelae of the illness have become a major challenge in critical care medicine. More than half of all ICU survivors suffer from at least one PICS-related impairment, and these effects can persist as long as 5 or more years.

PICS has become an increasingly important phenomenon in older adults for several reasons. First, the number of older adults with critical illness is rapidly increasing as the population ages and now accounts for about 50% of ICU admissions. Second, more than 70% of older adults hospitalized in the ICU develop delirium, which is a major risk factor for ICU-acquired cognitive impairments. Third, cognitive and functional impairment before an ICU hospitalization increases the likelihood of cognitive and functional decline afterward.

Brief description of media:

Since critical care began over 50 years ago, there have been tremendous advances in the science and practice that allow more severely ill and injured patients to survive. Each year, millions of people are discharged back to the community. The recognition of long-term consequences for ICU survivors and their families is a growing concern. Critical care practitioners have always known that the patients have a long road to recovery after discharge from the ICU. In the 2 past decades, research has revealed how remarkably common and devastating long-term consequences of critical illness can be and how much some patients and their families suffer (1–9). These consequences in patients are referred to as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) and in families as post-intensive care syndrome-family (PICS-F) (1). The research findings are disturbing and a source of dis-tress to critical care practitioners. In response, they are working hard to identify the risk factors for PICS and are rapidly implementing ways to mitigate their impact. Although the critical care community is becoming increasingly aware of PICS, patients, families, and the post hospital care community need more information. They are the ones who are deal most directly PICS and PICS-F.There are three key emerging concepts driving these initiatives: a focus on safe transitions and hand offs, an emphasis on family-centered care, and the acceptance that critical care is defined by the whole episode of care, not just the ICU stay. It is clear that those in the field of critical care have a responsibility to increase the awareness and to work with those who care for patients post-ICU to identify and treat the consequences of critical illness in patients and families.