Respiratory Disease Clinic Department of Oncology, Haematology and Respiratory Disease, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Eur J Clin Invest. 2015 Dec;45(12):1341-9. doi: 10.1111/eci.12547. Epub 2015 Nov 9.
The evolution of the techniques used in the intensive care setting over the past decades has led on one side to better survival rates in patients with acute conditions and severely impaired vital functions. On the other side, it has resulted in a growing number of patients who survive an acute event, but who then become dependent on one or more life support techniques. Such patients are called chronically critically ill patients.
MATERIALS & METHODS: No absolute definition of the disease is currently available, although most patients are characterized by the need for prolonged mechanical ventilation. Mortality rates are still high even after dismissal from intensive care unit (ICU) and transfer to specialized rehabilitation care settings.
In recent years, some studies have tried to clarify the pathophysiological characteristics underlying chronic critical illness (CCI), a disease that is also characterized by severe endocrine and inflammatory impairments, partly accounting for the almost constant set of symptoms.
Currently, no specific treatment is available. However, a strategic early therapeutic approach on ICU admission might try to prevent the progress of the acute disease towards chronic critical illness.
过去几十年中，重症监护环境中使用的技术不断发展，一方面提高了急性病症和严重生命功能受损患者的生存率。另一方面，越来越多的患者在急性事件中幸存下来，但随后依赖于一种或多种生命支持技术。这些患者被称为慢性重病患者。
目前尚无该疾病的绝对定义，尽管大多数患者的特征是需要长时间机械通气。即使从重症监护病房（ICU）出院并转移到专门的康复护理机构，死亡率仍然很高。
近年来，一些研究试图阐明慢性重病（CCI）的病理生理特征，这种疾病还伴有严重的内分泌和炎症损伤，部分解释了几乎持续存在的一系列症状。
目前尚无特定的治疗方法。然而，在 ICU 入院时采取策略性的早期治疗方法，可能有助于防止急性疾病向慢性重病发展。
