• Erika Schlichter, Omar Lopez, Raymond Scott, Laura Ngwenya, Natalie Kreitzer, Neha S Dangayach, Simona Ferioli, and Brandon Foreman.
• Erika Schlichter is a bedside critical care nurse, UCHealth, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and a member of the Collaborative for Research on Acute Neurological Injuries (CRANI), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Crit Care Nurse. 2020 Jun 1; 40 (3): e1-e8.

BackgroundThe outcome focus for survivors of critical care has shifted from mortality to patient-centered outcomes. Multidimensional outcome assessments performed in critically ill patients typically exclude those with primary neurological injuries.ObjectiveTo determine the feasibility of measurements of physical function, cognition, and quality of life in patients requiring neurocritical care.MethodsThis evaluation of a quality improvement initiative involved all patients admitted to the neuroscience intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.InterventionsTelephone assessments of physical function (Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended and modified Rankin Scale scores), cognition (modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status), and quality of life (5-level EQ-5D) were conducted between 3 and 6 months after admission.ResultsDuring the 2-week pilot phase, the authors contacted and completed data entry for all patients admitted to the neuroscience intensive care unit over a 2-week period in approximately 11 hours. During the 18-month implementation phase, the authors followed 1324 patients at a mean (SD) time of 4.4 (0.8) months after admission. Mortality at follow-up was 38.9%; 74.8% of these patients underwent withdrawal of care. The overall loss to follow-up rate was 23.6%. Among all patients contacted, 94% were available by the second attempt to interview them by telephone.ConclusionsObtaining multidimensional outcome assessments by telephone across a diverse population of neurocritically ill patients was feasible and efficient. The sample was similar to those in other cohort studies in the neurocritical care population, and the loss to follow-up rate was comparable with that of the general critical care population.©2020 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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