Browsing by Author "Solverson, Kevin"

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    Long-term health related recovery and outcomes in survivors of intensive care
    (2013-04-04) Solverson, Kevin; Doig, Christopher
    Our objective was to create a follow-up clinic for survivors of critical illness in order to examine objective physical functioning, mental health and sleep quality and relate these findings to health related quality of life (HRQL) and ICU risk factors. 56 patients were evaluated at 2 months post hospital discharge and 19 patients at 4 months. At 2 months post hospital discharge we found that: Patients had reduced muscle strength and physical functioning and neither were association with ICU risk factors; Reduced muscle strength was correlated with poor physical functioning; Patients’ HRQL was associated with decreased physical functioning; Anxiety was common and found to correlate with poor HRQL and physical functioning; Objective sleep quality was poor and predicted by increased severity of critical illness. Long-term physical and mental morbidity is common in critical illness survivors and impacts HRQL. ICU follow-up clinics should be considered in all survivors of critical illness.
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    Wanting to Forget: Intrusive and Delusional Memories from Critical Illness
    (2020-03-24) Doig, Lauren; Solverson, Kevin
    Introduction. Delusional and fearful memories after critical illness are observed in up to 70% of patients post critical illness. However, they often go unrecognized after patients leave the intensive care unit (ICU). Case Presentation. A 40-year-old male was admitted to the ICU with community-acquired pneumonia and multiorgan failure requiring mechanical ventilation and renal replacement therapy. He developed protracted delirium and severe ICU-acquired weakness but was eventually discharged home. The patient returned to a follow-up clinic two months post-ICU discharge and revealed that he was suffering anxiety from memories in the ICU of different staff trying to harm and kill him, including being repeatedly suffocated. By providing context to the memories, the patient had significant relief in his anxiety. Conclusions. Intrusive memories contribute to psychological morbidity post critical illness, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reduced health-related quality of life. The majority of critical illness survivors do not share their intrusive or frightening memories, and therefore, most healthcare professionals are unaware of the problems they can pose. Assessment of patients’ memories from the ICU is essential and may create the opportunity to help patients place memories into context and improve psychological morbidities.