A scoping review of older patients' health-related quality of life, recovery and well-being after intensive care.
Åsa Israelsson-Skogsberg, Thomas Eriksson, Elisabeth Lindberg
PMID 37306357WHAT IT FOUND
Older ICU survivors face high 1-year mortality and functional decline, but most who survive report acceptable quality of life and willingness to return home.
Pain and anxiety are acute issues that often resolve, while frailty and sensory impairments predict poor recovery.
Key findings
01Mortality at 12 months after discharge was estimated at approximately 50% in 10 of the included studies.
02Frailty, hearing impairment, and vision impairment were identified as strong predictors of poor functional recovery.
03While pain and anxiety were present directly after ICU discharge, they did not persist as long-term consequences for most older survivors at one year.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The included studies used a wide variety of measurement tools for quality of life and function, making direct comparison and synthesis difficult. The review was a scoping review, not a systematic review with meta-analysis, so it maps the landscape rather than quantifying the overall effect size of outcomes. There was significant variation in follow-up times and ICU settings across the 20 studies.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that acceptable quality of life scores indicate a return to pre-ICU functional status. The review highlights that while survivors often report well-being, they may still experience significant functional decline and frailty that requires ongoing management.