Table 2.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substantial anxiety and depression symptoms and healthcare consumption after ICU discharge at 6 months (n = 509 patients)
| Variable | Total (n = 509) | COVID-19 (n = 284) | Non-COVID-19 (n = 225) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD | ||||
| Presumptive diagnosis of PTSDa, n (%) | 25/508 (4.9) | 14/283 (4.9) | 11 (4.9) | 0.976 |
| Intrusion symptoms, n (%) | 176/508 (35) | 111/283 (39) | 65 (29) | 0.015 |
| Avoidance symptoms, n (%) | 118/508 (23) | 76/283 (27) | 42 (19) | 0.030 |
| Cognition and mood-related symptoms, n (%) | 149/508 (29) | 91/283 (32) | 58 (26) | 0.117 |
| Arousal symptoms, n (%) | 170/508 (33) | 97/283 (34) | 73 (32) | 0.664 |
| PCL-5 total scoreb | 7 (3–18) | 9 (3–20) | 7 (2–16) | 0.033 |
| Anxiety symptoms | ||||
| HADS anxiety scorec | 5 (2–8) | 5 (3–8) | 5 (2–8) | 0.372 |
| Substantial anxiety symptomsd, n (%) | 154/505 (30) | 93/283 (33) | 61/222 (27) | 0.194 |
| Depression symptoms | ||||
| HADS depression scorec | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | 0.973 |
| Substantial depression symptomsd, n (%) | 86/505 (17) | 48/283 (17) | 38/222 (17) | 0.963 |
| Health consumption since ICU discharge | ||||
| Visit to primary care physician, n (%) | 466/506 (92) | 260/283 (92) | 206/223 (927) | 0.835 |
| Emergency department visit, n (%) | 73/501 (15) | 33/281 (23) | 40/220 (18) | 0.043 |
| Hospitalization, n (%) | 138/501 (28) | 66/281 (17) | 72/222 (33) | 0.022 |
| Psychotropic drug use, n (%) | 78/503 (16) | 46/280 (16) | 32/223 (14) | 0.522 |
| Psychologic and /or psychiatric care, n (%) | 58/503 (12) | 31/280 (11) | 27/223 (12) | 0.718 |
Boldface indicates significance with p < 0.05
ICU Intensive care unit, PCL-5 PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
PCL-5 total score, HADS anxiety score, and HADS depression score are presented as the median with interquartile range (IQR) in parentheses
aPTSD was diagnosed using the cut-off total score of 33 with at least one intrusion symptom, one avoidance symptom, two symptoms of negative alterations in cognition and mood, and two arousal symptoms. A symptom was considered present if the score of the corresponding item was 2 or above on a 5-point Likert-type scale
bPCL-5 score is a self-reported questionnaire consisted of 20 items; each related on a 5-point scale from 0 to 4 and may range from 0 to 80, with higher scores indicating increased probability of having PTSD
cThe anxiety and depression subscales of HADS both include 7 items; each rated on a 4-point scale from 0 to 3 and may range from 0 to 21 with higher scores indicating increased probability of having anxiety or depression, respectively
d Patients with a score ≥ 8 on each subscale were considered with substantial symptoms