Follow-up practices of Norwegian intensive care units: A descriptive survey

Abstract

After critical illness, two-thirds of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors experience new or increased deterioration of physical, psychological and/or cognitive conditions. Follow-up of ICU survivors is therefore essential. However, no recent studies have described follow-up routines in Norway. This study aimed to describe follow-up practices in Norwegian ICUs, including follow-up consultations, practices related to the use of diaries and the roles of different professions in this approach. This is a descriptive survey, reported in accordance with the STROBE checklist for reporting observational studies, where one professional development nurse in each of the 35 out of 55 Norwegian ICUs completed a questionnaire (64% response rate). Eight units (23%) offered follow-up consultations and 10 units (29%) offered patient diaries. The nurses played a central role in the use of follow-up consultations and diaries, as nurses, for example, were the professionals who most often led follow-up consultations (6/7) and always (10/10) wrote in the diaries. To better plan for future follow-up and rehabilitation strategies for ICU survivors, it is important to identify the best type of follow-up practices and establish evidence-based guidelines, thus giving nurses sufficient recourses to perform the procedure.