Background: Sensory impairment affects the quality of life after intensive care. However, no studies have comprehensively examined sensory impairment after intensive care.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate sensory impairment in critically ill patients.
Methods: This ambidirectional cohort study was conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital between April 2017 and January 2020. Patients who survived despite invasive mechanical ventilation for >48 h, with a discharge period of >6 months, participated in the study. A questionnaire was sent to consenting patients to investigate the presence or absence of sensory impairment at that time, and treatment-related data were collected from their medical records.
Results: Of 75 eligible patients, 62 responded to our survey. Twenty-seven (43.6%) patients had some sensory impairment. Nine (14.5%) patients had chronic pain after ICU discharge, 4 (6.5%) had chronic pain and visual impairment, 3 (4.8%) had visual impairment only, and 3 (4.8%) had chronic pain and taste impairment. The most common overlapping symptom was a combination of chronic pain.
Conclusions: Critically ill patients who survived and were discharged from the ICU accounted for 43.6% of patients with complaints of sensory impairment in the chronic phase. The results of this study suggest the need for follow-up and treatment of possible sensory impairment following ICU discharge.
Keywords: Critically ill patients; Intensive care unit; Post–intensive care syndrome; Sensory impairment.
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