Quality of life of critically ill patients in a developing country: a prospective longitudinal study.
José Marcelo E Souza Mafra, Janete Maria da Silva, Leda Tomiko Yamada da Silveira and 2 others
PMID 27821961WHAT IT FOUND
Quality of life improved significantly over six months for ICU survivors in Brazil.
Physical scores started lower than mental scores but both rose steadily. Older age was linked to worse physical recovery, while time spent on ventilators or in the ICU did not predict final quality of life.
Key findings
01Both physical and mental quality of life components improved significantly from one to six months after hospital discharge.
02Age influenced the physical component of quality of life, but severity of illness at admission, ventilator time, and ICU stay length did not.
03The physical component consistently showed lower scores than the mental component across all follow-up points.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had a very high dropout rate, with nearly half of eligible patients lost to follow-up or dying, which may bias results toward healthier survivors. Patients with severe cognitive deficits, aphasia, or neurological conditions were excluded, so findings do not apply to those with complex communication or thinking impairments. The study was conducted in a single tertiary hospital in a developed region of Brazil, which may not reflect outcomes in rural areas or other developing countries. The analysis did not directly compare physical and mental component scores against each other, relying instead on observing that physical scores were lower at each time point.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or author conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a longer ICU stay or more severe initial illness predicts worse long-term quality of life. In this study, those factors did not correlate with outcomes, while age did. Also, remember that the patients who completed the study were healthier than those who died or dropped out, so the recovery rates seen here may be optimistic compared to the broader ICU survivor population.