What is it about?
We compared two strategies for addressing ICU survivors' symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. One was an ICU-specific education program. The second was a coping skills training program, delivered by phone and online. We measured distress over 6 months thereafter.
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Why is it important?
This is the first large-scale multi-center trial targeting ICU survivors' distress. Overall, there was no difference in symptom relief. However, among those who had high levels of distress at baseline, the coping skills training program reduced depression more than education.
Perspectives
This trial showed that while it was previously thought that ICU survivors can continue to develop distress over time, a better strategy moving forward is to focus interventions only on those with elevated symptoms at the time they arrive home from the hospital. Furthermore, this trial highlighted the importance of focusing on those who are neither 'too well' to show any further signs of improvement, nor 'too ill' to be able to avoid dropping out of the trial because of persistent health issues.
Dr Christopher E. Cox
Duke University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effects of a Telephone- and Web-based Coping Skills Training Program Compared with an Education Program for Survivors of Critical Illness and Their Family Members. A Randomized Clinical Trial, American Review of Respiratory Disease, January 2018, American Thoracic Society,
DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201704-0720oc.
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