ORIGINAL ARTICLES   Free access

Minerva Anestesiologica 2015 February;81(2):135-44

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Recommendations for intensive care follow-up clinics; report from a survey and conference of Dutch intensive cares

Van Der Schaaf M. ¹, Bakhshi-Raiez F. ^{2, 3}, Van Der Steen M. ^{4, 5}, Dongelmans D. A. ^{3, 5, 6}, De Keizer N. F. ^{2, 3} ✉

¹ Department of Rehabilitation, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; ² Department of Medical Informatics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; ³ National Intensive Care Evaluation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; ⁴ Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Gelderse Vallei, Ede, the Netherlands; ⁵ NVIC, Dutch Society for Intensive Care, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; ⁶ Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

BACKGROUND: With the increasing awareness of postintensive care syndrome and the unbridled development of post-ICU clinics in the Netherlands, guidelines for ICU after care are needed. The purpose of this study was to develop recommendations for the set-up of post-ICU clinics.
METHODS: Recommendations regarding the design of post-ICU clinics were formulated based on a survey among Dutch ICUs and the available literature. Subsequently, in a round table conference stakeholders discussed and voted on a final approval of the recommendations.
RESULTS: The response rate of our survey was 70% (57 of 82), 40% of the respondents provided ICU after care. Twenty-one people from 16 ICUs participated in the round table conference. Only two studies are available with information on organization and effectiveness of post-ICU clinics.
It is recommended to invite patients who are mechanically ventilated for more than 2 days at a post-ICU clinic between 6 and 12 weeks after hospital discharge and screen for physical, psychological and cognitive impairments by using validated electronic patient-reported questionnaires. The set-up of a national registry for benchmarking and research purposes is suggested.
CONCLUSION: This study recommends how to organize post-ICU clinics based on literature and expert opinion. The implementation of the recommendations will facilitate the set-up of post-ICU clinics, research on effectiveness of post-ICU clinics and benchmarking of quality of ICU care.