Patients who survive acute respiratory distress syndrome experience low quality of life at one year after intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and experience high associated post-hospital healthcare costs, out of pocket expenses and lost earnings.

Joachim Marti, Centre for Health Policy, Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues from the UK and Canada performed a secondary analysis of an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) randomised controlled trial (RCT) [Conventional positive pressure ventilation or High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV)] for adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome)  that included 795 patients treated in 29 ICUs. The study is published in the Journal of Intensive Care.

See Also: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Quality of Life

One-year mortality was 51.8%. Mean hospital costs were £37,626. After-hospital costs had similar means for health and social care costs and costs incurred by patients and their carers. The data on after hospital costs was collected by self-completed questionnaires, which may limit the results, say the researchers. 

The estimates of costs are available by different patient groups and care settings and will be of use to health economists, say the authors.

Image credit: Pixabay

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References:

Marti J, Hall P, Hamilton P, Lamb S, McCabe C, Lall R, Darbyshire J, Young D, Hulme C (2016) One-year resource utilisation, costs and quality of life in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. J Intensive Care. 2016 Aug 11;4:56. doi: 10.1186/s40560-016-0178-8. eCollection 2016.




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ARDS, ICU, costs, quality of life, survival Patients who survive acute respiratory distress syndrome experience low quality of life at one year after intensive care unit (ICU) admission and experience high associated post-hospital healthcare costs, out of pocket expenses and lost earnings.