Critical Illness Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship (CIBS) Center

ICU survivors who have impaired exercise capacity months after discharge may have damaged muscle mitochondria — the energy powerhouses of the cell, Vanderbilt researchers propose.

Jane Stories is one of many COVID-19 patients still plagued by debilitating symptoms that include achy muscles, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and cognitive impairment.

Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.

Sedative medications used in intensive care are associated with increased delirium, which is in turn connected with higher medical costs and greater risk of death and ICU-related dementia.

COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care in the early months of the pandemic were subject to a significantly higher burden of delirium and coma than is typically found in patients with acute respiratory failure. Choice of sedative medications and curbs on family visitation played a role in increasing acute brain dysfunction for these patients.

High levels of stress and anxiety can be debilitating, especially for health care providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are ways they can protect themselves and their ability to provide the best and most compassionate care.

Intensive care unit delirium, a fertile area of clinical research and patient care innovation associated with VUMC, is beginning to reshape how commercial electronic health record systems are engineered with regard to intensive care.