Identifying cues of distorted memories in intensive care by focus group interview of nurses

Abstract

Intensive care always prioritizes patients' lives, saving many critically ill patients. While this allows for subsequent long-term survival, certain patients develop physical, mental and cognitive impairments after intensive care. The concept of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) was proposed in 2010 (Needham et al., 2012). The longterm quality of life (QOL) of PICS patients is considered to be low; intensive care is therefore focused on improvement of QOL in postintensive care unit (ICU) patients as the next step after lifesaving.Post-ICU patients experience mental disorders including anxiety (23%-48%), depression (8%-57%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (10%-50%), thereby reducing their QOL (Harvey & Davidson, 2016). They have distorted memories of their ICU stay, including memory loss or delusions, resulting in inconsistent memories. Several studies have reported an association between delirium