SPECIALIST ARTICLE INTENSIVE CARE DIARY
Up to a third of all patients requiring intensive care develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during and after their stay in hospital, with a significant correlation between the length of stay in intensive care and the resulting increase in the incidence of psychological impairment among those affected. (Cf. Flatten et al., 2011, pp. 202-210, Maercker, A., 2009: )
The high effectiveness of intensive treatment diaries (ITBs) in preventing the development of PTSD and reducing PTSD symptoms has been described internationally in many cases and is therefore a tool for promoting patients' health. The aim of the diary entries is to remind the patient of the "lost" time, e.g. during ventilation, delirious phases and the wake-up phase, by means of various explanations of selected measures and descriptions of daily situations, and to reconstruct the meaningfulness of some nursing and medical vital measures. As a positive consequence of a possible reconstruction of events and experiences, memory gaps and hallucinations can be reduced with the help of transcripts by relatives or the intensive care treatment team. This can reduce psychosocial complications due to acute or chronic stress reactions in former intensive care patients. (Cf. Knück, D., & Nydahl, 2008: p.249-255)
Due to the significant advantages of an ITB for patients and their relatives in terms of their quality of life after an intensive care stay, the successful development and implementation of an ITB in everyday clinical practice has been taking place at the University Medical Center Mannheim since April 2019. Since the beginning of 2020, ten diaries have already been handed out to our intensive care patients and their relatives. Initial positive feedback from former patients and their relatives on the project has already been reported. An evidence test of the chosen measure, with regard to the positive effect of an ITB on increasing post-inpatient quality of life after an intensive care stay, will be carried out in the next few months as part of a nursing science research project.
Author: Lisa Renneis
LITERATURE:
Flatten, G., Gast, U., Knaevelsrud, C., & et al. (2011). S3 Guideline -PTSD (051), 202-210
Knück, D., & Nydahl, P. (2008). The intensive care diary in Germany. Intensiv, 16(05), 249-255. doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1027780
Maercker, A. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorders. In Springer Medizin Verlag Heidelberg (Vol. 3).
