Hospitals are increasingly recognizing the value of dedicated clinics to support the more than half of intensive care unit survivors who experience “post-intensive care syndrome,” KFF Health News reported April 10.
More than 5 million people are admitted to intensive care units every year. A 2025 study published in PLOS One suggests up to 54% of survivors may develop cognitive, physical and psychological impairments after an ICU stay. Older patients are often at higher risk for such symptoms. With an estimated 70% to 90% of adults now surviving ICU stays, this means the share of patients experiencing post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, is growing.
About 35 hospitals nationwide have opened post-ICU clinics where multidisciplinary teams monitor and treat conditions associated with the syndrome, such as delirium, memory issues, muscle weakness and post-traumatic stress disorder. Alongside treatment, the clinics offer support groups for patients and families, and care team members discuss patients’ preferences if they ever require another ICU stay.
Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center has operated its clinic since 2012. Pittsburgh-based UPMC launched its Critical Illness Recovery Center in 2018, and New Haven, Conn.-based Yale Medicine unveiled its own in 2022.
The organizations also follow six practices recommended by the Society of Critical Care Medicine to reduce post-ICU symptoms. Efforts include using lighter sedation, earlier ventilator weaning and promoting patient mobility.
Read the full article, which KFF Health News published in partnership with The New York Times, here.
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