Post Intensive Care Syndrome
by Premier Hospitals | September 13, 2018 |
Accidents, diseases, various health conditions are difficult to go through. The accident or injury in itself is traumatic, but what comes after in the form of treatment can also get difficult to deal with for the patient. Anyone who has had a serious accident, or has spent days together in the intensive care facility of a hospital, might have suffered from this particular condition that we are going to discuss here.
Being confined in an Intensive Care facility, waiting to recover, with the faint chance that they might get worse is something nobody wants to go through. You know you can recover, but the confinement in a stressful environment might affect your body and mind causing a roller coaster of emotions. Although Intensive care is necessary and is good for recovery, the long hours spent in a closed room can result in a collection of symptoms together termed as Post Intensive Care Syndrome.
What is PICS?The time one spends in Intensive Care can be tough in many ways. Not only is your treatment intensive, but everything your body goes through, the state of mind you are in, the number of days you are kept there, gives rise to many thoughts, feelings and emotions.
“How would my life be after recovery?â€
“Will I be able to live my life as before?â€
“Will everyone look at and treat me the same?â€
These are some of the questions which might cloud the patient's mind in the time they spend in Intensive care. Self doubt, anxiety, depression can be experienced. There are physical symptoms which can occur as well such as weakened muscles because of prolonged inactivity.
When can you experience PICS?
The risk factors that can lead to PICS are:
- Being in the ICU for longer than three to five days
- Having an infection or sepsis that needs daily care
- Multiple affected organs like lungs, kidney, skin, heart, brain and others.
- Needing mechanical ventilator to help you breathe
- Weakness from degenerated muscles and nerves.
- Poor nutrition
- Having trouble with attention, memory or reasoning
- Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms with frightening memories or even hallucinations
- Help to people to get off of a mechanical ventilator quickly
- Provide occupational, speech and physical therapy
- Ensuring 24x7 Intensivist coverage
- Help with pain management
- Preventive treatment for Infection and sepsis
If anyone you know, is suffering from or showing the above mentioned symptoms of Post Intensive Care Syndrome, visit or book an appointment with us at Premier Hospitals and we will make sure that the condition is controlled and steps are taken to help.
About The Hospital: Since the inception of Premier Hospital in 1991 till today, we have grown to unprecedented levels, due to our excellence in medical sciences and healthcare. Premier Hospital is the creation of Dr Mahesh Marda and when it was first established, was only a small, 30-bed hospital facility. Back then, we provided only secondary care to patients, but that certainly has changed in the present landscape.