Rehabilitation Assessment of Post Intensive Care Syndrome

Abstract

The awareness of symptoms experienced after intensive care seems to have been extensively studied since the pandemic wave in 2019. The persistence or new occurrence of symptoms after intensive care is diagnosed as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). The syndrome encloses multiple system disorders and therefore requires thorough utilization of assessment tools, which unfortunately have no standard clinical practice guidelines. Several subdomains that are crucial for assessment include physical, cognitive, and mental functions. Other aspects to be observed include quality of life, physical examination, and functional tests, particularly those related to reduced cardiorespiratory endurance. This review aimed to highlight the most notable list of tools to be used in the outpatient assessment setting of PICS. The feasibility was also tested in a recent workshop session for physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, and it was possible to accomplish this in 30 min. Until a consensus is reached on the PICS assessment, it is strongly suggested that practitioners exercise these tools and use them in daily practice.