Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Diaries as a Therapeutic Intervention for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Following Critical Illness (RACHEL II)

University of Liverpool

Status: Completed

Conditions: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Other: ICU Diary

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00912613

06/Q1502/127

Details and patient eligibility

About

The incidence of PTSD post ICU varies from unit to unit, however a significant number of patients have been shown to develop this disorder. Many patients do not recall their stay in ICU properly and yet can clearly recall nightmares, hallucinations or paranoid delusions, which may be very frightening for the patient to recall at a later stage. As yet, no interventional studies have had an impact on the development of PTSD in this population of patients. However, a recent observational multi-centre study suggested that those patients receiving a diary of their time in ICU had lower levels of symptoms of PTSD than those who did not. These results need to be verified in the form of a randomized study.

Enrollment: 352 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients staying on the ICU for at least 72 hours (with greater than 24 hours of artificial ventilation)

Exclusion criteria

• ICU stay < 72 hours
• Too confused for informed consent
• Pre-existing psychotic illness

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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352 participants in 2 patient groups

Discussion with nurse

No Intervention group

Description:

Brief discussion with ICU follow-up nurse about the patients' critical illness

ICU Diary

Experimental group

Description:

Receipt of ICU Diary at 1 month post critical illness

Treatment:

Other: ICU Diary