ICU Recovery in Australian Patients

The ICU Recovery program will measure psychological, functional and cognitive function and quality of life with health economic outcomes in critically ill patients 6 months after ICU admission. The initial pilot study will determine feasibility of the patient outcomes and measurement methods used. The study will consist of patients from three (3) Monash Partners ICUs (2 public and 1 private) as well as The Austin Hospital ICU. 10,000 ICU patients are managed by Monash Partners Academic Health Science Centre (MPAHSC) public and private hospitals each year, of which in the region of 8,500 patients survive. These patients add to the community burden and also influence community and rehabilitation costs. Ultimately, our goal is to establish a national National Health \& Medical Research Council (NHMRC) -funded interventional study, led by Monash Partners. Our aim is to improve long-term patient outcomes through: improving sedation practices, delirium prevention, neurocognitive stimulation, early mobilisation, post-ICU follow-up, and functional and psychological rehabilitation. This study is required for the evaluation of hospital and post-ICU rehabilitation practice as there is insufficient evidence to alter current clinical practice. OBJECTIVES Primary Aim: To determine the feasibility of the multi-centre ICU Recovery study using telephone follow-up to assess quality of life, global, psychological, cognitive and physical outcomes at six months following ICU admission. Secondary Aims 1. To determine the recovery of ICU patients ventilated \>24 hours at 6 months after ICU admission 2. To identify risk factors for poor recovery in ICU patients Tertiary Aims 1. To establish the likely recruitment rate for future studies of long-term outcomes 2. To establish the resource requirements for long term follow-up (including staff, equipment and time taken for survey completion)