Table 1.
Characteristics of participants—overall as well as stratified by treatment group
| Characteristic | Overall (N=50, k=25) |
Treatment group | P value | |
| iCBT (N=24, k=12) |
WL control (N=26, k=13) |
|||
| Male sex; n (%) | 26 (52.0) | 12 (50.0) | 14 (53.8) | 1.000 |
| Age, in years; median (Q1, Q3) | 55 (47, 62) | 56 (52, 64) | 54 (46, 59) | 0.101 |
| Among post-ICU patients‡ | ||||
| Time since ICU treatment, in years; median (Q1, Q3) | 1.8 (1.1, 3.7) | 1.9 (1.2, 4.6) | 1.6 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.231 |
| Duration of ICU treatment, in days; median (Q1, Q3) | 21 (13, 40) | 28 (12, 42) | 21 (13, 28) | 0.662 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 1.000 | |||
| Yes; n (%) | 18 (72.0) | 9 (75.0) | 9 (69.2) | |
| No; n (%) | 5 (20.0) | 2 (16.7) | 3 (23.1) | |
| Not specified; n (%) | 2 (8.0) | 1 (8.3) | 1 (7.7) | |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation among ventilated patients, in days; median (Q1, Q3)§ | 24 (16, 28) | 28 (28, 35) | 18 (8, 23) | 0.048 |
| College or university degree; n (%) | 17 (34.0) | 7 (29.2) | 10 (38.5) | 0.559 |
| Pre-existing mental disorder (prior to sepsis); n (%) | 16 (32.0) | 9 (37.5) | 7 (26.9) | 0.547 |
| Treatment of pre-existing mental disorder | ||||
| Prior to sepsis; n (%) | 15 (30.0) | 8 (33.3) | 7 (26.9) | 0.760 |
| Post sepsis; n (%) | 6 (12.0) | 4 (16.7) | 2 (7.7) | 0.409 |
| Presumptive PTSD diagnosis | ||||
| Post-ICU patient only; n (%)† | 12 (48.0) | 6 (50.0) | 6 (46.2) | 1.000 |
| Spouse only; n (%)‡ | 4 (16.0) | 2 (16.7) | 2 (15.4) | 1.000 |
| Both dyad members; n (%)* | 9 (36.0) | 4 (33.3) | 5 (38.5) | 1.000 |
| Relationship | ||||
| Duration, in years; median (Q1, Q3)* | 22.2 (16.2, 32.9) | 24.5 (19.1, 34.6) | 21.8 (12.5, 29.4) | 0.414 |
| Marital status: married; n (%)* | 21 (84.0) | 10 (83.3) | 11 (84.6) | 1.000 |
The numbers are based on the dyad population. Overall, there are 25 dyads —12 dyads in the iCBT group and 13 dyads in the WL control group. Note that each dyad comprises one post-ICU patient and one spouse. The overall number of dyads (k) and the overall number of individuals (N) are provided. Characteristics are summarised as median with first and third quartile (Q1, Q3) or as absolute (n) and relative frequency (%). P values are derived from Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test, respectively, while excluding patients with missing (including non-specified) information on the respective characteristic.
*Refers to dyad.
†Refers to former ICU patient.
‡Refers to partner.
§Missing for nine patients (iCBT group: six, WL control group: three).
iCBT, internet-based cognitive-behavioural writing therapy; ICU, intensive care unit; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; WL, waitlist.