Quality of life after complicated elective surgery requiring intensive care

Objective. To evaluate outcomes of patients admitted to the ICU for complications after elective surgery and to assess perceived quality of life (pQOL) in survivors. Design. Two-year prospective case-control study. Setting. Twelve-bed ICU in a university-affiliated hospital. Patients. Patients admitted to the ICU for a complication following elective surgery were included. Six months after discharge, pQOL was assessed using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Results were compared to those of matched controls without complications. Interventions. None Measurements and results. Of the 182 patients, 124 were alive after 6 months, among whom 116 had 6-month data and 104 of these had matched controls. Overall pQOL as assessed by the global NHP score was similar in both groups (median, 0.82 and 0.87 in cases and controls; P=0.24). NHP subscores showed significantly worse pain (P=0.03) and physical impairment (P=0.02) in the ICU patients. In the multivariate analysis, pQOL was better in patients with cancer as the reason for surgery (P=0.05). Severity of illness at inclusion had no influence on subsequent pQOL, but cardiovascular dysfunction was associated with decreased energy (P=0.04). Conclusions. Although overall pQOL was satisfactory after 6 months, patients admitted to the ICU for postoperative complications had worse pain and physical impairment than controls. Whether these outcomes could be improved by early physiotherapy and aggressive pain management deserves investigation.