| Summary: | <b>Background:</b> Critical care has evolved from a primary focus on short-term survival, with greater attention being placed on longer-term health care outcomes. It is not known how best to implement follow-up after critical care discharge. Study aims were to (1) assess the uptake and feasibility of telephone follow-up after a critical care stay and (2) profile overall physical status and recovery during the sub-acute recovery period using a telephone follow-up assessment. <b>Methods:</b> Adults who had been admitted to critical care units of St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, for >72 h were followed up by telephone 3−9 months post discharge from critical care. The telephone assessment consisted of a battery of questionnaires (including the SF-36 questionnaire and the Clinical Frailty Scale) and examined quality of life, frailty, employment status, and feasibility of telephone follow-up. <b>Results:</b> Sixty five percent (<i>n</i> = 91) of eligible participants were reachable by telephone. Of these, 80% (<i>n</i> = 73) participated in data collection. Only 7% (<i>n</i> = 5) expressed a preference for face-to-face hospital-based follow-up as opposed to telephone follow-up. For the SF-36, scores were lower in a number of physical health domains as compared to population norms. Frailty increased in 43.2% (<i>n</i> = 32) of participants compared to pre-admission status. Two-thirds (<i>n</i> = 48) reported being >70% physically recovered. <b>Conclusion:</b> Results showed that telephone follow-up is a useful contact method for a typically hard-to-reach population. Deficits in physical health and frailty were noted in the sub-acute period after discharge from critical care.
|
|---|
