Quality of life of the critically ill patients (review)

Farshatov R. S.
M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of the department of Therapy, Nursing and General Patient Care¹

Kildebekova R. N.
Doctor of Medicine, full professor of the department of Disaster Medicine¹

1 - Bashkir State Medical University

Objective: The aim of the current study was to make an attempt to generalize the available data related to quality of life among the critically ill patients. Methods: Literature review using Russian Science Citation Index platform and PubMed search. Results: It is shown that quality of life is the dynamic indicator changing in time together with human society. In recent years in spite of improving outcomes of critical illness, practitioners and researchers started to move away from the developed «survived/died» approach in terms of evaluation the patient’s outcome. On discharging from critical care unit to general ward, the patient very often retains numerous problems: organ dysfunctions, neuro-cognitive impairment. It was shown that estimated quality of life of the patient’s relatives could serve as the indirect indicator of the patient’s quality of life. Conclusions: Now there are a lack of convincing data for introduction any of the programs directed on improvement of the patients’ quality of life. To achieve the most possible quality of life, change of the «classical» medical approach is needed. Healthcare workers should be focused not on the nosology-related intervention, but on the problems of the patient and his family (so-called «patent centered care» and «family centered care» approach).

critically ill, quality of life, post-intensive care syndrome

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