title: Mortality assessment and quality of life two years after discharge from the ICU: preliminary data from a prospective cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate mortality and long term quality of life of patients who were discharged from the intensive care unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort, in which all the admitted patients in a intensive care unit (ICU) during 6 months were evaluated and interviewed by telephone after two years of discharge, aiming the completion of two quality of live scales: Karnofsky scale and activities of daily living (ADL) scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From a total of 380 patients, 100 (26.5%) individuals were alive at the time of interview, 94% living in their homes and 90% without the need for family or specialized care. There was a significant reduction in quality of life of the survivors (Karnofsky pre-ICU = 90±10 vs. Karnofsky after two years = 79±11; p<0.05), although maintaining their functional capacity (ADL pre-ICU = 28±4 vs. ADL after two years = 25±8; p=0.09). This drop in the quality of life occurred mainly to patients who suffered stroke (Karnofsky pre-ICU = 88±7 vs. Karnofsky after two years = 60±15; p<0. 01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These preliminary data suggest that the performance of patients after two years of the intensive care discharge is preserved, since they retain the ability to perform self care, except in those with brain damage which shows an inferior quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Superior de Educação, Instituto Porto Alegre, Igreja Metodista, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Claúdia da Rocha
authors.initials: Cda R
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cassiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Terapia Intensiva, Hospital Moinhos de Vento de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Roselaine Pinheiro de
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Pós Graduação em Clínica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Jaqueline Sangiogo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hass
authors.affiliation: Instituto Superior de Educação, Instituto Porto Alegre, Igreja Metodista, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Karina de Oliveira
authors.initials: Kde O
authors.lastname: Azzolin