• Henk J Stam, Gerold Stucki, Jerome Bickenbach, and European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine.
• Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, NL-3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. hendrikjanstam@gmail.com.
• J Rehabil Med. 2020 Apr 15; 52 (4): jrm00044.

AbstractAlthough we are currently overwhelmed by the astonishing speed of infection of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the daily onslaught of new, and ever-worsening predictions, it is vital that we begin to prepare for the aftershocks of the pandemic. Prominent among this will be the cohort of post-intensive case survivors who have been mechanically ventilated and will like experience short- and medium-term consequences. The notion that patients surviving intensive care and mechanical ventilation for several weeks can be discharged home without further medical attention is a dangerous illusion. Post Intensive Care Syndrome and other severe conditions will require not only adequate screening but early rehabilitation and other interventions. Action must be taken now to prepare for this inevitable aftershock to the healthcare system.

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