PMID: 9172858Mar 1, 1997Paper

Outcomes of long-term ventilator patients: a descriptive study

American Journal of Critical Care : an Official Publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Sara L DouglasM A Dyer

Abstract

Long-term ICU patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation are a growing segment of the in-hospital population. Despite recognition that this population is costly to care for no systematic research has been done on the characteristics, outcomes, and disposition of these patients after they leave the hospital. To describe clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and outcomes of ICU patients who require long-term (5 days or more) mechanical ventilation while in the hospital. A prospective, longitudinal descriptive design was used to study 57 ICU patients who required 5 days or more of continuous mechanical ventilation while in the hospital. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected at the time of enrollment. Patients were followed up for up to 6 months after discharge from the hospital to ascertain disposition and morality. On average, patients had a hospital stay of almost 6 weeks and required mechanical ventilation for approximately 4 weeks; 43.9% of the patients died in the hospital. None of the patients discharged from the hospital were able to return home initially without assistance. By 6 months after discharge, more than 50% of the original sample and died, 9% resided in an institution, and 33% were l...Continue Reading

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