• José G M Hofhuis, Henk F van Stel, Augustinus J P Schrijvers, Johannes H Rommes, and Peter E Spronk.
• Department of Intensive Care, Gelre Ziekenhuizen Hospital, Albert Schweitzerlaan 31, 7334 DZ, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, j.hofhuis@gelre.nl.
• Intensive Care Med. 2015 Mar 1; 41 (3): 495-504.

PurposeSevere critical illness requiring treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) may have a serious impact on patients and their families. However, optimal follow-up periods are not defined and data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before ICU admission as well as those beyond 2 years follow-up are limited. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of ICU stay up to 5 years after ICU discharge.MethodsWe performed a long-term prospective cohort study in patients admitted for longer than 48 h in a medical-surgical ICU. The Short-Form 36 was used to evaluate HRQOL before admission (by proxy within 48 h after admission of the patient), at ICU discharge, and at 1, 2, and 5 years following ICU discharge (all by patients). Changes in HRQOL were assessed using linear mixed modeling.ResultsWe included a total of 749 patients (from 2000 to 2007). At 5 years after ICU discharge 234 patients could be evaluated. After correction for natural decline in HRQOL, the mean scores of four dimensions-physical functioning (p < 0.001), role-physical (p < 0.001), general health (p < 0.001), and social functioning (p = 0.003)-were still significantly lower 5 years after ICU discharge compared with their pre-admission levels, although effect sizes were small (<0.5).ConclusionsAfter correction for natural decline, the effect sizes of decreases in HRQOL were small, suggesting that patients regain their age-specific HRQOL 5 years after their ICU stay.

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