Background: Despite a growing volume of literature on post-intensive care syndrome, we know little about how subjective symptoms affect intensive care unit survivors in the long term.
Aims: This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of subjective symptoms and to determine the clinical importance of post-intensive care syndrome by evaluating the association between these symptoms and psychiatric symptoms. We evaluated new-onset or worsening subjective symptoms and psychiatric symptoms in 81 patients at 3 months after discharge from an intensive care unit.
Results: More than half of patients had at least one subjective symptom, such as weakness (n = 31), fatigue (n = 23), malaise (n = 14), body pain (n = 14), or insomnia (n = 9).
Conclusions: The presence of subjective symptoms is associated with worse psychiatric symptoms (post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression) at 3 months after ICU discharge. We found insomnia was particularly strongly associated with psychiatric symptoms in our study group.
Trial registration: UMIN Clinical Trial Registry no. UMIN000023743, September 1, 2016.
Keywords: Insomnia; Post-intensive care syndrome; Psychiatric symptoms; Subjective symptoms.
© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.