Patient characteristics, ICU-specific supports, complications, and outcomes of persistent critical illness

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to identify the proportion of patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) beyond day 10, the recently defined time of onset of Persistent Critical Illness (PerCI). The secondary objective was to identify underlying diagnoses, intensive care unit (ICU) based therapies, relevant complications, and outcomes of patients with PerCI. SUBJECTS: 100 PerCI patients and 100 age, sex, mechanical ventilation for >24 h, acute physiology and chronic health score (APACHE III) and co-morbidity score-matched controls. MAIN RESULTS: The maximum proportion of PerCI patients requiring invasive MV beyond day 10 was 66%. PerCI patients were more likely to have respiratory, septic..