QUALITY-OF-LIFE AFTER CARDIAC-SURGERY COMPLICATED BY MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE

Objective: To evaluate quality of life after prolonged multiple system intensive care treatment in cardiac surgical patients, Design: A case control study, Setting: Adult 12-bed thoracic intensive care unit (IC U) at a university teaching hospital, Patients: Forty-seven patients s urviving multiple organ failure requiring intensive care treatment for >5 days (ICU group). Patients with a completely uncomplicated postope rative course were matched to the study group with respect to gender, age, and type and date of surgery. The Nottingham Health Profile was u sed to assess quality of life at least 1 yr after complicated cardiac surgery.Interventions: Quality of life measures were collected at leas t 1 yr after discharge from the ICU, Measurements and Main Results: Se venty-five percent of the patients in the ICU group suffered from mult iple organ failure involving at least three organ systems, with a mean stay in the ICU of 9.0 +/- 1.2 (SEM) days, Quality of life was consid erably reduced in the ICU group, with a higher total mean score of all dimensions of quality of life (22.7 +/- 2.6) compared with the contro l group (13,2 +/- 2,4 [SEM]) (P < .01), The Nottingham Health Profile score was higher in three of six dimensions of health-i.e., energy (p < .05), physical mobility (p < .05), and emotional reactions (p < .05) -compared with the control group. A higher percentage of patients repo rted problems in three of six important activities of daily life-house work (p < .05), hobbies (p < .01), and sex life (p < .01)-compared wit h the control group. Conclusion: Patients treated with prolonged multi ple system intensive care after heart surgery have a poor outcome with respect to quality of life measured at least 1 yr after discharge fro m the ICU.