Psychological distress and intensive care unit stay after cardiac surgery: The role of illness concern

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between psychological factors and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Method: We studied 212 adults undergoing CABG surgery preoperatively to assess depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and illness perceptions and then followed them up during the in-hospital stay to measure length of ICU stay. Results: Greater preoperative concern about the illness (B = .200, 95% CI [.094, .305], p = < 001), but not depression or anxiety symptoms, was significantly related to longer ICU stays after controlling for demographic, clinical, and behavioral covariates. Conclusions: Illness concern may be particularly relevant for CABG recovery, though more work is needed to delineate the exact mechanisms of this effect.