Neurocognitive Impairment in Survivors of ARDS

Abstract

Critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) consume a considerable proportion of medical resources [1]. As intensive care treatment has improved due to advances in medical technology and knowledge, more critically ill patients are surviving. Most outcome studies following intensive care treatment have focused on survival as the major ICU outcome variable. During the past two decades, other outcome variables have emerged as important measures of recovery including physical recovery, respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, health-related quality of life (HRQL), neurocognitive function, and affect. Recent studies indicate that critically ill patients experience impaired HRQL and psychosocial impairments following treatment in the ICU [1–3]. Reports also indicate that mechanically ventilated patients reported anxiety [4] and painful or unpleasant experiences due to respiratory treatment [5]. Forty percent of ICU survivors were unable to return to work due to physical and/or psychosocial problems [6]. One limitation of most outcome research on ICU survivors is the heterogeneity of the patient groups, so outcome data for specific ICU patient populations, such as survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), is limited.