Survivorship Will Be the Defining Challenge of Critical Care in the 21st Century
Authors: Theodore J. Iwashyna
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Editorials3 August 2010Survivorship Will Be the Defining Challenge of Critical Care in the 21st CenturyTheodore J. Iwashyna, MD, PhDTheodore J. Iwashyna, MD, PhDFrom University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-3-201008030-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Distracted by the high mortality rate of critical illness, we tend to overlook the essential fact that most patients survive the intensive care unit (ICU). Every year, millions of patients are discharged from the ICU to face the challenges of critical illness survivorship—the complex burdens and legacies of surviving a potentially fatal disease, often after harsh and painful treatment.The emerging picture of critical illness survivorship is deeply disturbing. In the year or two after discharge, patients are ravaged. They cannot walk. 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The PRaCTICaL study of nurse led, intensive care follow-up programmes for improving long term outcomes from critical illness: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2009;339:b3723. [PMID: 19837741] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.Grant Support: By the National Institutes of Health (grant K08HL091249).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M10-1344.Corresponding Author: Theodore J. Iwashyna, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, 3A23 300 NIB, SPC 5419, 300 North Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5419; e-mail, [email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoOne-Year Trajectories of Care and Resource Utilization for Recipients of Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation Mark Unroe , Jeremy M. Kahn , Shannon S. 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