Posttraumatic stress disorder in critical illness survivors: too many questions remain

Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, and Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome Among Intensive Care Unit Survivors in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Objective To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among ICU survivors in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia, and explore the correlational relationships among these conditions to inform targeted mental health interventions in this unique regional context. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional observational design to assess ICU survivors from two major hospitals in the Jazan Region: Prince Mohammed Bin Nasser Hospital and King Fahad Central Hospital. One hundred participants were interviewed face-to-face to gather detailed insights into their post-ICU experiences. We employed the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the post-trauma symptom scale (PTSS-10) to systematically assess the psychological impacts of anxiety, depression, and PTSD among participants. Results The demographic breakdown of participants showed a youthful skew, with 37% under 35 years, 49% aged between 36-60 years, and only 14% over 60 years, contrasting with typical ICU demographics, which generally skew older. This younger distribution may influence the psychological outcomes observed. The sample was fairly gender-balanced, with 53% male and 47% female, closely reflecting the regional gender ratio of ICU admissions. Among the participants, 24% were classified as 'abnormal' and 20% as 'borderline abnormal' for anxiety, while 25% were 'borderline abnormal' and 21% 'abnormal' for depression. About 8% of participants were diagnosed with severe PTSD. Anxiety was more strongly correlated with PTSD than depression. The analysis demonstrated significant associations between demographic factors and psychological distress among ICU survivors. Females reported higher anxiety, while lower education and unemployment were associated with increased depression. Additionally, lower household income was associated with higher PTSS scores, and marital status was linked to depression, suggesting that socioeconomic factors play a critical role in post-ICU psychological recovery. Conclusion The findings emphasize the imperative need for comprehensive mental health evaluations and tailored interventions for ICU survivors in the Jazan region.

Do tapered tracheostomy cuffs improve translaryngeal gas flow when compared to barrel cuffed fenestrated tubes: A laboratory study

Objective

The benefits of tracheostomy are well documented and include improved comfort and a reduction in sedative requirements that may facilitate more rapid ventilation weaning. A stable airway established with tracheostomy allows pulmonary toilet that may help in addressing aspiration. It is postulated that it may also increase translargyngeal airflow and allow phonation. We hypothesized that taper‐shaped cuffed tracheostomy tubes have less bulk upon cuff deflation, and on this basis, gas flow past the deflated tapered cuff is better than non‐tapered barrel cuffs and equal to gas flow in equivalent‐sized fenestrated versions.

Methods

This comparative bench study measured exhaled gas flow of Shiley™ Flexible taper‐cuffed tracheostomy and Fenestrated Shiley™ FEN tubes of equivalent sizes. Three sizes of Shiley™ tracheostomy tubes were used in printed 3D model tracheas, Jackson sizes 4, 6, and 10 (6.5, 7.5, and 10 mm ISO sizes). A standard ventilator provided tidal volumes to mechanical lungs. Because expiratory volume was the focus, the mechanical lungs exhaled through the model trachea and only the air exiting the model trachea, representing exhalation, was measured.

Results

Across three sizes, the Shiley™ Flexible tracheostomy tube allowed significantly more translaryngeal airflow compared to the tracheostomy tube with fenestrations.

Conclusion

This bench study showed significantly improved air flow past the cuff compared to fenestrated tubes. Improved airflow may help the phonation ability of patients. Clinical studies are required to elucidate use of this cuff design to allow phonation in patients with a tracheostomy.

Level of evidence: NA.

Mixed-method research protocol: Development and evaluation of a nursing intervention in patients discharged from the intensive care unit

AIM

(a) To understand patients' lived experience at intensive care unit (ICU) discharge and (b) to evaluate the impact of a nursing empowerment intervention (NEI) on patients' anxiety and depression levels at ICU discharge.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods approach will be applied.

METHODS

In the qualitative phase, the hermeneutic phenomenological method will be used. Participants will be patients from three university hospitals who will be selected by purposive sampling. Data will be gathered through in-depth interviews and analysed using content analysis. The qualitative data obtained will be employed to develop the nursing intervention. Subsequently, a multicenter, parallel-group, experimental pre-test/post-test design with a control group will be used to measure the effectiveness of the nursing empowerment intervention in the quantitative phase by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Simple random probabilistic sampling will include 172 patients in this phase.

A qualitative multicase study of the trajectories of prolonged critical illness: Patient, family, and healthcare professionals' experiences

BACKGROUND

Contemporary intensive care enables many critically ill patients to survive their initial illness; however, a small group of patients require a protracted stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), experiencing many complications throughout their illness. It is only when we understand the total illness experience from patients' and families' perspectives, as well as the complexity of care for healthcare professionals, that we can fully engage in developing services and promoting evidence-based practice to improve broad health outcomes and experiences for all groups.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore the trajectories of a prolonged critical illness in an ICU from the experiences of the patient, their family, and the healthcare professionals who provide care.

METHODS

This was a longitudinal, qualitative, multicase study of six cases from four New Zealand ICUs. Theoretical underpinnings were informed by the Chronic Illness Trajectory Framework. Each case consisted of the patient, their family members, and nurses and other healthcare professionals who provided care. Data collection methods included observations, conversations, interviews, and document review. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and trajectory mapping.

RESULTS

Regardless of the patient's admitting diagnosis, the trajectory of a prolonged critical illness is made up of common phases, determined by the patient's physiological condition. However, all subphases represented different psychosocial needs. The patients' debilitated state made them susceptible to complications and added to the complexity of their trajectory. The family's trajectory was informed by the patient's trajectory, and uncertainty dominated throughout. Each phase of the illness presented different challenges for healthcare professionals as they cared for this complex group of patients.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the distinct phases of a prolonged critical illness. Knowledge of these phases provides the ground work for improving care, not only for patients but also for their family and the healthcare professionals who provided care.

Improving communication toward ICU families to facilitate understanding and reduce stress. Protocol for a multicenter randomized and controlled Italian study

OBJECTIVE

Families of ICU patients have a pressing need for information: they find themselves suddenly in a complex technical environment often because of a life-threatening illness of a loved one. Some evidence suggests that specific communication tools (like websites or brochures) could improve the experience of ICU families.

DESIGN

Randomized, multicenter, stepped wedge trial for large-scale assessment of the effectiveness of a multitasking intervention to improve communication with families of critically ill patients.

MAIN OUTCOME

correct understanding of the prognosis.

SECONDARY OUTCOMES

correct understanding of medical treatments, prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms in the first ICU week. Prevalence of PTSD 6 months from ICU discharge. Empathy and burnout among ICU staff. Prevalence of refusals for tissues/organ donation, and medical claims.

SUBJECTS

2100 ICU relatives of critically ill patients.

INTERVENTIONS

The intervention employs specific tools especially designed to raise the correctness of information and to improve the quality of communication: a website presenting the ICU world and justifying the relatives' emotions, with a webpage specifically dedicated to each participating ICU; a standard brochure; eight posters for the families' waiting room and a signboard for the ICU door.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The study plans to assess these materials in up to 300 Italian ICUs that will participate, according to a five waves program, each one with randomized starting order. This way the effect of the intervention will be evaluated simultaneously.

CONCLUSION

This is an educational study, aiming to spread good medical practices, while also verifying their real effectiveness in a large number of ICUs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03438175.

From post-traumatic stress disorder to absolute dependence in an intensive care unit: reflections on a clinical account

This paper tells the story of one man's experience of terrifying hallucinations and nightmares in an intensive care unit (ICU), drawing attention to the reality that intensive care treatment induces emotional suffering severe enough to be identified as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A body of international research, confirmed by South African studies, links life-saving critical care to symptoms which qualify for secondary psychiatric diagnosis including of post-traumatic stress. Risk factors include pre-ICU comorbid psychopathology. Early on in the clinical encounter with the patient in this paper it emerged that he bore the scars of another trauma. He had been a soldier. Recounting the terror he experienced when he was being weaned off mechanical ventilation evoked memories of his military history. Paradoxically, these shifted the focus away from the symptoms of PTSD, to make the helplessness and dependency of ICU patients more visible. This patient's clinical account and patient experiences in other studies reveal the relational vulnerability of ICU patients. In as much as experiences of ICU treatment can be terrifying, the non-response of carers distresses patients. This interplay of wounding and care provides a starting point from which to explore how we account for the neglect of relational care that is a recurring theme in medical contexts, without blaming the carers. These questions find resonance in a South African novel to which the paper refers. A novel about war and trauma movingly portrays the internal conflict of the central character, a nurse and her quest not to care, as a defence against vulnerability. In these ways writing about the relational vulnerability of patients opened up questions about the social and institutional context of carer vulnerability.

[Depressive, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorders as long-term sequelae of intensive care treatment]

Modern intensive care medicine has led to increased survival rates even after severe life-threatening medical conditions. In self-critical and multidimensional outcome research, however, it must be considered that beyond survival rates treatment on intensive care units (ICU) can also be associated with high long-term rates of depressive, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorders. Significant correlations with increased somatic morbidity and mortality, persisting cognitive impairments and significant deficits in health-related quality of life must also be taken into consideration. Empirical analysis of the risk factors reveals that a history of premorbid depression, sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables, age, female sex, personality traits, the underlying pathophysiological condition requiring ICU treatment, mode of sedation and analgesia, life support measures, such as mechanical ventilation, manifold traumatic experiences and memories during the stay in the ICU are all of particular pathogenetic importance. In order to reduce principally modifiable risk factors several strategies are illustrated, including well-reflected intensive care sedation and analgesia, special prophylactic medication regarding the major risk of traumatic memories and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions in states of increased acute stress symptoms and aids for personal memories and reorientation.