The effect of video visitation on intensive care unit patients and family members outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomised controlled trial.

Single centre, so results may not apply to other ICUs. Patients and families were not blinded to video calls, and anxiety, depression and satisfaction were self-reported, so expectations could bias scores. Analgesia and sleep deprivation may have affected patients' ability to complete anxiety and depression scales accurately. The hospital satisfaction questionnaire was not tested for validity or reliability. Patients with dementia, mental health diagnosis, cognitive disorder, hearing or speech deficit, or no smartphone or WeChat were excluded, so it does not address more cognitively or communication-impaired ICU patients. Reasons family members refused were not explored; families with high anxiety or depression may not have participated. The average ICU stay was short, 3.80 days, which may not allow effects on depression or delirium to appear. The video intervention was added to routine nurse phone contact and nurse-initiated bedside calls, so the separate contribution of video technology, nurse presence and call timing cannot be separated.

The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work.

Do not conclude that video visitation alone improves clinical symptoms. The primary anxiety outcome was not significant (p = 0.187), and depression, delirium and family anxiety also showed no significant differences. The intervention was added to routine nurse phone contact and nurse-initiated bedside calls, so its separate contribution cannot be separated. The positive finding was satisfaction with the visiting method.