Patients with major burns experienced a higher rate of Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS, 66%) than the 50% observed in the general ICU population, according to a study published in Burns. Mette M. Berger, MD, PhD, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of survivors of major burns admitted to a burn ICU between 2013-2019. Study criteria included ICU admission and major burns over 20% of TBSA.
Three questionnaires were used to evaluate the PICS components: 1) Cognitive health with MacNair Cognitive Difficulties Self-Rating Scale (CDS); 2) Physical health with Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B); and 3)
Mental health with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. If at least one component out of three was abnormal, PICS was considered. Of total patients enrolled (N=53), 66% were identified with PICS. Main risk factors were prolonged mechanical ventilation (>4 days), more than three general anesthetics, hospital stay (>25 days), and ICU stay (>8 days). Considering the effects of PICS on “quality of life, …preventative measures should be applied in the ICU,” the study authors wrote.
