TEST - Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS)
TEST - Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS)
Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a group of problems that people can experience after surviving a life-threatening illness. More than half (50 percent) of all people who survive a hospital stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) will have at least one of the problems seen with PICS.
- Physical symptoms include:
- weakness
- pain
- shortness of breath
- difficulty with movement or exercise
- Psychological symptoms - Mental health symptoms that include:
- mild anxiety or irritability to severe depression
- sleep disturbances
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- Cognitive (memory) symptoms include:
- difficulty thinking, remembering, or concentrating
People who develop PICS can experience any combination of these physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. They may be entirely new problems, or worsening of problems that were present before the critical illness.
The Post ICU recovery clinic at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital was set up in 2015 with a team of specialist to help patients understand how PICS is affecting their recovery from critical illness.
In this section
While returning home might feel like a big relief for some people, it can also feel quite overwhelming to be without the reassurance and support of hospital staff.
Many physical problems can be encountered after critical illness. These can be new or old symptoms that have got worse.
Recovering from an intensive care stay