Acute and Persistent Pain in ICU Patients

Approximately 20,000 patients are treated in intensive care units (ICU) in Finland annually. During ICU stay many diagnostic and other procedures as well as immobilization and underlying diseases may cause pain. Therefore the incidence of pain in ICU patients can be high. Acute pain may cause several detrimental effects including respiratory distress, tissue hypoxia, immunosuppression and anxiety. After discharge many survivors of critical care have lower health-related quality of life, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or persistent pain. Only few studies with a focus on acute or persistent pain in ICU patients have been made, hence the incidence and risk factors for ICU-related pain is not very well known. Some of the identified risk factors for persisting pain may be increased age, sepsis or inadequate pain management during ICU stay. Opioids are most often used for analgesics in intensive care. Because they may have several adverse effects the use must be based on validated pain scales. Many factors such as sedation, relaxation or delirium of the patient complicates the management of the pain. This prospective observational study aims to determine the incidence and risk factors for acute and persistent pain in ICU patients as well as and the use of analgesics during intensive care.

This prospective observational study aims to determine the incidence and risk factors for acute and persistent pain in ICU patients as well as and the use of analgesics during intensive care. The recruitement process is finished, but the follow-up is on-going. Patients are followed-up by subsequent questionnaires until 5 years after admission to the ICU.