P sychological symptoms of family members of high-risk intensive care unit patients

Abstract

Background: Family members of patients in intensive care are at increased risk for psychological symptoms. Objectives: To compare levels of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression during and 3 months after the intensive care experience in family members of patients at high risk for dying and to determine if differences were related to the patient's final disposition. Methods: Longitudinal descriptive study of 41 family members in 3 tertiary care intensive care units. Results:6 By repeated-measures analysis of variance, family members' levels of posttraumatic stress disorder were significantl6y lower (P=.01) at 3 months after (mean score, 1.27; SD, 0.86) than during (mean, 1.61; SD, 0.81) the experience. Mean anxiety and depression scores were significantly lower (P