ICU Stay Triggers Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In 20% Of Patients

Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Thanks to advances in critical care medicine, patients admitted to the intensive care unit today are more likely than ever to survive their stay.

Yet outliving the physical trauma or illness that required ICU treatment often leaves long-lasting psychological scars, a new CIHR-supported review finds.

"The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients following ICU hospitalization is high - about 20 percent," says lead author, Dr. Dimitry Davydow of the University of Washington.

The researchers say health care providers should prepare families for the possibility that their loved one could have psychological difficulties, including problems with anxiety and PTSD after an ICU stay.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

The CIHR is the Government of Canada's health research funding agency, and is involved in׃

-- Supporting the work of more than 11,000 researchers and trainees in universities, teaching hospitals, and research institutes across Canada

-- Developing high-quality people, excellent science and training the next generation of health researchers

-- Funding research that improves Canadians' health, health care system and quality of life

-- Fostering commercialization, moving research discoveries from academic setting to the marketplace

-- Allocating 94 cents of every dollar directly to fund Canadian health researchers

Source
David Coulombe
Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
http://cihr-irsc.gc.ca

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