Venettacci Oliver, Gholami Nazanine, Gilfoyle Elaine, Parshuram Christopher, Maratta Christina
Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Paediatr Child Health. 2025 Mar 30;30(5):395-401. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxaf001. eCollection 2025 Aug.
This survey aims to describe the perceived needs for follow-up, and the actual follow-up received, by caregivers of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) survivors. It explores PICU survivors' existing healthcare usage, primary care and specialist follow-up, and return to school and work for patients and their caregivers, respectively.
A cross-sectional survey of patients surviving their PICU admission at a quaternary care children's hospital. Patients admitted less than 24 hours or who were not expected to survive were excluded. Descriptive statistics were used to describe characteristics and responses, and Likert scale responses were summarized.
Of the 139 patients consented, 62 (45%) completed the survey. Among children who attended school/daycare, 34% had not returned within 3 months of PICU discharge and 23% of those children returning to school required a new specialized education plan. Among employed caregivers, 38% had missed more than 1 month of employment. After discharge, 39% of patients had follow-up scheduled with a hospital specialist and 53% had new allied health follow-up. Of the respondents, 59% agreed or strongly agreed that follow-up after PICU would be beneficial for their child, and 84% agreed or strongly agreed that they would attend an in-person PICU follow-up appointment.
This survey demonstrates a perceived need for follow-up among some caregivers of PICU survivors, an ongoing reliance on healthcare services, and school absenteeism following PICU admission. Further work is required to better delineate the ideal timing and format of follow-up, as well as the population most likely to benefit.
本调查旨在描述儿科重症监护病房（PICU）幸存者的照顾者所感知到的随访需求以及实际接受的随访情况。它分别探讨了PICU幸存者现有的医疗保健使用情况、初级保健和专科随访情况，以及患者及其照顾者的返校和复工情况。
对一家四级护理儿童医院中PICU住院后存活的患者进行横断面调查。入院少于24小时或预计无法存活的患者被排除。使用描述性统计来描述特征和回答，并汇总李克特量表的回答。
在139名同意参与的患者中，62名（45%）完成了调查。在上学/日托的儿童中，34%在PICU出院后3个月内未返校，而这些返校儿童中有23%需要新的特殊教育计划。在有工作的照顾者中，38%缺勤超过1个月。出院后，39%的患者安排了医院专科医生的随访，53%有新的联合健康随访。在受访者中，59%同意或强烈同意PICU后的随访对其孩子有益，84%同意或强烈同意他们会参加面对面的PICU随访预约。
本调查表明，一些PICU幸存者的照顾者认为有随访需求，对医疗服务仍有持续依赖，且PICU入院后存在学校缺勤情况。需要进一步开展工作，以更好地确定随访的理想时间和形式，以及最可能受益的人群。
