title: Sepsis patients do not differ in health-related quality of life compared with other ICU patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the present multicentre study is to assess health-related quality of life in patients with community-acquired sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock (CAS) 6 months after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) and to compare the health-related quality of life of the ICU survivors with CAS with ICU survivors with other ICU diagnoses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, multicentre study in nine combined medical and surgical ICUs in Portugal. Health-related quality of life was assessed 6 months after ICU stay, using EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) mailed to patients. ICU-related factors were obtained from the local ICU database and the local database for the SACiUCI follow-up study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 313 (52%) surviving patients answered the questionnaire, and of these 91 (29%) were admitted for CAS. There were no significant differences in health-related quality of life between the two study groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients admitted to ICU for CAS did not perceived different health-related quality of life compared with ICU patients admitted for other diagnoses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Information and Decision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine of Porto, CIDES, Porto, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine of Porto, CINTESIS - Center for Research in Health Technologies and Health Systems, Porto, Portugal; Department of Intensive Care, Linkoping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orwelius
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teixeira Pinto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costa-Pereira
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Granja
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology*; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000523:psychology*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology