• Various news reports in recent weeks have pointed out that for some COVID-19 patients who needed intensive care, the journey to recovery is a long one.
• After leaving the ICU, they may suffer from what is known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can happen to any person who has been in the ICU.

Infectious disease outbreaks, like the current Coronavirus (COVID-19), can be scary and can affect our mental health. This pandemic is going to leave a bigger trauma for those who had lost their dear ones as well those who recovered.

What is PICS?

• PICS comprise impairment in cognition, psychological health and physical function of a person who has been in the ICU.
• Further, such patients may experience neuromuscular weakness, which can manifest itself in the form of poor mobility and recurrent falls.
• The psychological disability may arise in a person in the form of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Its symptoms

• The most common PICS symptoms are generalized weakness, fatigue, decreased mobility, anxious or depressed mood, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbances and cognitive issues.
• These symptoms may last for a few months or many years after recovery, the authors of the aforementioned article note.
• Patients who develop this may take at least a year to fully recover, until which time they may have difficulty in carrying out everyday tasks such as grooming, dressing, feeding, bathing and walking.

What causes PICS?

• A combination of factors can affect aspects of an ICU survivor’s life.
• PICS may be induced if a person was on prolonged mechanical ventilation, experienced sepsis, multiple organ failure and a prolonged duration of “bed-restore deep sedation”.

Treatment

• It is recommended that to avoid PICS, patients’ use of deep sedation is limited and early mobility is encouraged, along with giving them “aggressive” physical and occupational therapy.
• Further, patients should be given the lowest dose of pain medications when possible and should be put on lung or cardiovascular rehabilitation treatments along with treatments for depression, anxiety and PTSD.

Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024

Attend Now