The ICU can be a dangerous place for neurologically normal people. Imagine how much worse it is for our loved ones who are neurologically impaired!
Here’s an excerpt from a recent article in STAT (statnews.com):
“Anywhere from a third to more than 80 percent of ICU patients suffer from delirium during their hospital stay. And one-quarter of all ICU patients suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder once they leave, a rate that’s comparable to PTSD diagnoses among combat veterans and rape victims. Patients with ICU delirium are less likely to survive and more likely to suffer long-term cognitive damage if they do.”
One critical care physician quoted in the article calls ICU delirium a “massive, massive public health problem.”
Read the full article here:
www.statnews.com/2016/10/14/icu-delirium-hospitals/
Hospitals struggle to address terrifying and long-lasting ‘ICU delirium’
By Usha Lee McFarling
STAT
October 14, 2016
Robin