• David Y Hwang, Daniel Yagoda, Hilary M Perrey, Paul F Currier, Tara M Tehan, Mary Guanci, Lillian Ananian, J Perren Cobb, and Jonathan Rosand.
• Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Yale School of Medicine (YSM), New Haven, CT 06510, USA. Electronic address: david.hwang@yale.edu.
• J Crit Care. 2014 Apr 1;29(2):278-82.

PurposePrior studies of anxiety and depression among families of intensive care unit patients excluded those admitted for less than 2 days. We hypothesized that families of surviving patients with length of stay less than 2 days would have similar prevalence of anxiety and depression compared with those admitted for longer.Materials And MethodsOne hundred six family members in the neurosciences and medical intensive care units at a university hospital completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at discharge.ResultsThe 106 participants represented a response rate of 63.9% among those who received surveys. Fifty-eight surveys (54.7%) were from relatives of patients who were discharged within 2 days of admission, whereas 48 (45.3%) were from those admitted for longer. No difference in anxiety was detected; prevalence was 20.7% (95% confidence interval, 10.4) among shorter stay families and 8.3% (7.8) among longer stay families (P = .10). No difference was also seen with depression; prevalence was 8.6% (7.2) among shorter stay families and 4.2% (5.7) among longer stay families (P = .45).ConclusionsFamilies of surviving patients with brief length of stay may have similar prevalence of anxiety and depression at discharge to those with longer length of stay.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

22 keywords...

hide…