Quality of life in acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors may be no worst than in other ICU survivors.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) survivors with that in a matched control group of non-ARDS survivors.


METHODS
Prospective, matched, parallel cohort study, comparing HR-QOL between intensive care unit (ICU) survivors with ARDS and a control group in a tertiary care hospital.


METHODS
Between May 1997 and December 2000, all ARDS adult patients of an eight-bed medical/surgical unit of a tertiary care hospital were enrolled and a control group of non-ARDS survivors, matched for severity of disease and for previous health state, was selected. The study included 29 ARDS survivors who answered the EQ-5D questionnaire and had lung function evaluated.


RESULTS
A follow-up appointment was performed 6 months after ICU discharge consisting of: (a) evaluation of HR-QOL using EQ-5D and (b) lung function tests and measure of diffusing capacity. Among ARDS survivors 41% had normal lung function and 59% mild to moderate lung function impairments. Nearly a one-third of ARDS survivors reported problems in one or more of the five dimensions of the EQ-5D, and 48% reported feeling worse at the interview than 6 month before ICU admission. No significant differences were found in HR-QOL between ARDS survivors and other ICU survivors with similar age and matched for previous health state and severity of disease.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that impairments in HR-QOL among ARDS survivors may not be distinguishable from that among other ICU survivors.
Granja
Cristina
C
Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Pedro Hispano, 4454-509 Matosinhos, Portugal. cristinagranja@oninet.pt
Morujão
Edite
E
Costa-Pereira
Altamiro
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D017741:Survivors