Caring for Patients With Sepsis: Understanding Long-term Outcomes.

Abstract

How do we define success when we care for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) or progressive care unit? Stabilizing patients and preventing end-organ failure? Transfer to another level of care? Survival to hospital discharge? Support of patients and families during comfort care when goals of care change? Early diagnosis and intervention for patients with sepsis or septic shock is always the immediate goal, and preventing hospital-acquired conditions is the secondary goal. Previous research has described the long-term outcomes associated with delirium and other psychological effects leading to post–intensive care syndrome (PICS). In this issue, Biason and colleagues describe their research regarding long-term mortality and altered ability to conduct the activities of daily living for patients who survive their ICU stay for sepsis or septic shock. Clearly, what we are learning about survival to discharge is that we do not send patients out of the hospital to live a long and happy life that had been briefly interrupted by a critical illness. Their hospital stay has life-altering consequences that nurses and all health care providers need to consider daily as we provide care.