Feasibility of an Assessment Tool for Detection of Post-intensive Care Syndrome

Post-intensive care syndrome （PICS） refers to a decline of physical and cognitive functions and symptoms of mental health disorder that persist from the time intensive care is received to well after discharge in critically ill patients. PICS may have a significant impact both on the daily lives and quality of life （QOL） of patients and their families. Therefore, adoption of prophylactic measures against the development and early detection of PICS by nurses in intensive care units （ICUs） is important. We developed a PICS assessment tool for early detection of PICS by ICU nurses. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the assessment tool. We employed a descriptive research approach. Nurses in ICU who had at least 1 year of work experience （N = 56） evaluated patients’ conditions based on their routine observation using the assessment tool. The concordance rate for the results between their evaluation and medical record information was confirmed by interviewing the nurses. In addition, Fisher’s exact test was used to evaluate the participants’ opinions about the tool’s ease of use and usefulness in daily nursing. The mean time to complete the assessment was <10 min. Regardless of their nursing experience in ICUs and their level of understanding of PICS, a majority of participants thought that they could use the assessment tool routinely based on the number of items and quality of information. Our findings suggest the feasibility of using the novel assessment tool for the early detection of PICS.