Do survivors of acute neurologic injury remember their stay in the neuroscience intensive care unit?

Abstract

Background: Patients in medical, surgical, and trauma intensive care units (ICUs) are at risk for later development of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because acute brain injury can impair recall; we sought to show that neuroscience patients undergoing prolonged neuroscience ICU admission have limited memory of their ICU stay and thus are less likely to develop symptoms of PTSD. Methods: We surveyed patients >18 years admitted for 10 days or more to our neuroscience ICU over a 10-year period. Results: The survey response rate was 50.5 % (47/93). Forty percent (19/47) of respondents presented with coma. Recall of details of the ICU admission was limited. Fewer than 10 % of patients who required mechanical ventilation recalled being on a ventilator. Only five patients (11 %) had responses suggestive of possible post-traumatic stress syndrome. The most commonly experienced symptoms following discharge were difficulty sleeping, difficulty with concentration, and memory loss. Conclusion: Patients requiring prolonged neuroscience ICU admission do not appear to be traumatized by their ICU stay. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.