• Georgios Sidiras, Irini Patsaki, Eleftherios Karatzanos, Maria Dakoutrou, Alexandros Kouvarakos, Georgios Mitsiou, Christina Routsi, Georgios Stranjalis, Serafim Nanas, and Vasiliki Gerovasili.
• First Critical Care Department, Evangelismos Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
• J Crit Care. 2019 Oct 1; 53: 223-230.

PurposeICU acquired Weakness (ICUaW) is a common complication of critical illness. The aim of our study was the assessment of quality of life (QoL) and functional ability of patients with ICUaW, 6 months post hospital discharge.Material And MethodsEight hundred seventy eight consecutive patients who had been discharged from the ICU were evaluated and 128 of them, 36 with ICUaW, were eligible for the study. Muscle strength was evaluated with MRC and Hand grip dynamometry. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used to evaluate the functional ability while QoL was assessed with the Nottingham Health Profile and with the SF-36 questionnaire.ResultsPatients with ICUaW continued to have low MRC at hospital discharge, [53(49-56) vs. 59(58-60), p < 0.05]. Patients who developed ICUaW had lower Hand grip dynamometry at ICU, hospital discharge and 6 months after (p < 0.05). Patients with ICUaW have significantly lower FIM score at hospital discharge, 3 and 6 months post hospital discharge (p < 0.05) and persistently lower QoL at 3 and 6 months post hospital discharge(p < 0.05).ConclusionsICUaW is associated with persistent deficiencies in functional ability and Qol leading to a prolonged period of recovery. Further research is needed in the field of prevention and targeted rehabilitation of functionality in this patient group.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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