Reconceptualizing post-intensive care syndrome: Do we need to unpick our PICS?

Flaws, D., Patterson, S., Fraser, J., Tronstad, O., & Scott, J. G. (2021). Reconceptualizing post-intensive care syndrome: Do we need to unpick our PICS?. Nursing in critical care, 26(2), 67–69. https://doi.org/10.1111/nicc.12545

Challenges and opportunities: Clinical research and technological innovation have greatly improved survival after admission to intensive care units (ICU), such that around 90% of patients are discharged. However, their recovery is often complicated and partial. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that physical, cognitive, and psychiatric morbidity are prevalent post-discharge, with impairment often persisting for years. Concerned with promoting quality of survival, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) convened a 2-day conference in 2012 to develop strategies for improving long-term outcomes of critical illness for patients and family members. The term “post-intensive care syndrome” (PICS) was coined to represent impairment and disability arising after a critical illness and persisting beyond acute hospitalization.