Health-related quality of life before planned admission to intensive care: memory over three and six months.
BACKGROUND
The validity of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) recalled by ICU admitted patients have not been published. The aim of this study was to compare the baseline HRQOL measured before surgery and ICU admission with that recalled at 3 and 6 months in a population of patients with planned ICU admission after surgery.


METHODS
This prospective study was performed in three Italian centres on patients who had undergone General, Orthopaedic or Urologic surgery. All adult patients with planned ICU admission between October 2007 and July 2008 were considered for enrolment. At hospital admission, the Mini Mental Status Examination and EuroQoL (EQ) questionnaire (referring to the last two weeks) were administered to the patients who consented. Three and six months after ICU admission, the researchers administered by phone the EQ questionnaire and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome 14 questions Inventory, asking the patients to rate their HRQOL before surgery and ICU admission. Past medical history demographic and clinical ICU-related variables were collected.


METHODS
Chi-square test and non parametric statistics were used to compare groups of patients. The EQ-5D was transformed in the time trade-off (TTO) to obtain a continuous variable, subsequently analysed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).


RESULTS
Of the 104 patients assessed at baseline and discharged from the hospital, 93 had the EQ administered at 3 months, and 89 at 6 months. The ICC for TTO recalled at 3 months vs pre-ICU TTO was 0.851, and that for TTO recalled at 6 months vs pre-ICU TTO was 0.833. The ICC for the EQ-VAS recalled at 3 months vs pre-ICU EQ-VAS was 0.648, and that for the EQ-VAS recalled at 6 months vs pre-ICU EQ-VAS was 0.580. Forty-two (45%) patients assessed at 3 months gave the same score in all EQ-5D items as at baseline. They underwent mainly orthopaedic surgery (p 0.011), and perceived the severity of their illness as lower (p 0.009) than patients scoring differently at 3 months in comparison with baseline.


CONCLUSIONS
The patients with planned ICU admission have a good memory of their health status as measured by EQ-5D in the period preceding surgery and ICU admission, especially at three months.
Capuzzo
Maurizia
M
University Section of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Ferrara Arcispedale S, Anna, Ferrara, Italy. cpm@unife.it
Bertacchini
Sara
S
Davanzo
Elena
E
Felisatti
Giovanna
G
Paparella
Laura
L
Tadini
Laura
L
Alvisi
Raffaele
R
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures / Q000523:psychology*