Articles: critical-illness.
-
Intensive care patient diaries written by staff and/or relatives are widely used in intensive care units (ICUs) across the world. Although the original aim of the diaries was to support patients in their recovery from ICU, a more recent focus of the literature has been the potential benefit of the diaries to the relatives of patients. Meta-analyzes of quantitative studies looking at the impact on the psychological wellbeing of relatives have not consistently found an effect of the diaries, even though qualitative studies suggest that relatives find the diaries to be a useful coping strategy. ⋯ Relatives use the diaries in a variety of ways including as a means of coping, a way of staying connected, as a tool to understand and develop a narrative about the experience. These findings link the use of ICU diaries with literature on written emotional exposure, post-traumatic growth and meaning making. The relationship between a relative's use of the ICU diary, coping strategies and/or post-traumatic growth could be a focus for future quantitative trials. PROSPERO protocol number CRD42020165869.
-
Letter Multicenter Study Observational Study
Effectiveness of anaesthesia ventilator use for mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jul 2021
Sleep-wake rhythms determined by actigraphy during in-hospital stay following discharge from an intensive care unit.
Sleep and circadian disturbances play a major role in recovery after critical illness. Ample research has shown sleep to be disturbed during the stay at the intensive care unit (ICU); however, the trajectory of sleep after ICU discharge is sparsely described. The current study aimed to describe the development of the sleep-wake rhythm in subjects discharged from ICU to a hospital ward. ⋯ The duration of sleep and wake time did not improve during ward stay. However, sleep became less fragmented and naps during the day declined. Due to the small sample size further, larger trials are needed.
-
Critical diseases usually cause hypercortisolemia via activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. ⋯ Very high cortisol levels are associated with severe illness and increased risk of death, among COVID-19 patients in the ICU.