Recent discoveries in preventing mental impairments and ICU staff interventions in post-intensive care syndrome

Abstract

Introduction Mental impairments such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety are alarming problems in the ICU-survivors population because of the higher survival rate due to medical, scientific and technological progress. There are more and more patients facing long-term emotional consequences of critical illness. The main purpose of this review is to describe recent research about possible interventions and methods of prevention of mental impairments after an ICU stay made since 2015. Review methods The review was made using online databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar. Brief description of the state of knowledge Recent trials included in our review suggest that the sedation strategy has no significant impact on mental impairments in ICU survivors. ICU diaries seem to be a well-accepted and cheap method of prevention of mental disorders after critical illness but their universal usefulness is difficult to determine because variable factors like hospital and country levels influence the trials on patients. Nurse-led intervention programs, virtual reality and antioxidants described in recent studies also show no significant decrease in PTS symptoms in ICU survivors. Initial effects of mobile apps-based psychoeducational programs are comparable to therapist-led programs. Summary We did not find any evidence-based revolutionary method of prevention or intervention to help improve the mental health of ICU survivors. We think that the growing seriousness of this problem will lead to further research to cope with this phenomenon.

Keywords

• Intensive Care Units
• Stress Disorders
• Post-Traumatic
• Depression
• Critical Illness
• Anxiety