title: Vital dysfunctions after intensive care discharge: prevalence and impact on patient outcome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) are at increased risk for serious adverse events (SAEs). Recording vital functions and comprehending the consequences of altered vitals on general wards may be suboptimal. This potentially endangers recovery after successful intensive care. We aimed to determine the prevalence of vital dysfunctions after ICU discharge and their effect on patient outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective observational study. Adult patients discharged from a tertiary referral hospital ICU to general wards without treatment limitations were visited 24 h afterwards; their vitals were measured and reported to ward staff. Attending ward nurse responsible for patient was interviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cohort consisted of 184 patients who had survived the first 24 h on the ward without complications (age: 57 ± 16 years; male: 68%). The prevalence of objectively measured vital dysfunctions was 15%, and the attending nurse had been unusually concerned about the patient in 19% of cases. Of the 184 patients, 9.8% subsequently suffered an SAE. In a multivariate logistic regression model, only vital dysfunctions (odds ratio 3.79; 95% confidence interval 1.18-12.2) and nurse concern (3.63; 1.17-11.3) were independently associated with an increased incidence of SAE. Medical emergency team (MET) assistance was never considered necessary by ward staff. Sensitivity of observed altered vitals on SAEs was 50% and specificity 89%. Sensitivity of nurse concern was 26%, specificity 84%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Simple vital function measurement and attending ward nurse's subjective assessment facilitate early detection of post-ICU patients at risk. The threshold in seeking assistance through MET remains high.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care Medicine and Critical Care Medicine Research Group, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. joonas.tirkkonen@uta.fi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tirkkonen
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Olkkola
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tenhunen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoppu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010351:Patient Discharge; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055986:Vital Signs / Q000502:physiology*