• Doug Elliott, Yugan Mudaliar, and Carolyn Kim.
• Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick and Department of Clinical Nursing, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. delliott@nursing.usyd.edu.au
• Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2004 Dec 1; 20 (6): 366-77.

AbstractThis prospective observational study examined the outcomes of 200 consecutive admissions to an adult tertiary level Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Eligible and consenting participants were also involved in a sub-study that examined health status at four measurement points from pre-illness to 6 months post-discharge. Of the 189 individual patients admitted, 23% died in ICU and 57% were discharged home. The health status sub-study enrolled 34 participants (39% of eligible patients) who were representative of the ICU population for demographic and clinical variables. Surviving participants returned to a similar, though not identical state of health at 6 months post-discharge, when compared to their pre-ICU health-state using the 15D and SF-36 instruments. Health status at ICU discharge was significantly impaired when compared to other measurement points, particularly for mobility, breathing, eating, usual activities and vitality. A number of methodological challenges were evident, particularly for the health status sub-study, including prospective subject recruitment and retention, losses to follow-up and instrument responsiveness. Despite the limitations noted, the study provided useful findings and recommendations for the continued development of methods to examine the health status of critically ill patients.

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