The aim of follow-up and support programs for critically ill patients who suffer from post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is the repair of the sequelae that appear as a consequence of their stay in an intensive care unit (ICU), whether physical, psychological, or cognitive. Ultimately, what is intended is the recovery of the quality of life lost as a result of the critical process and the ICU stay.

But what makes up our quality of life? This concept is logically related to our expectations and has a thousand facets. Obviously, there are some aspects that carry a great weight, such as health (physical and mental), autonomy, or work and economy. But there are many others that, we could say, are the ones that move us daily, that excite us, motivate us, and make us enjoy life.

We refer to our everyday activities and hobbies, family and social relationships, cultural, leisure, or sports activities, etc. To measure quality of life, multiple questionnaires have been designed that are frequently used in the healthcare context. These questionnaires usually fundamentally evaluate aspects of physical health, mental health, and autonomy. However, they overlook all those facets we mentioned earlier that add great value to quality of life.

Likewise, when all these daily activities and hobbies are lost after a serious illness, we must consider that their recovery will contribute significantly to achieving the lost quality of life. For all these reasons, from the Ítaca Collaborative Group for the prevention, treatment, and follow-up of PICS, we propose that you take part in a multicenter and international study to investigate the recovery of quality of life in patients with PICS, evaluating all those aspects that have been so little considered until now in the scientific literature.

We launch “ERAH-PICS” (Study of the Recovery of Habitual Daily Life Activities in Patients with Post-Intensive Care Syndrome). It is a prospective multicenter observational cohort study in which all Intensive Medicine Services, whether or not they belong to the Ítaca Group, that have a PICS follow-up clinic in place may participate.

The hypothesis of the study proposes that the recovery of the habitual daily life activities prior to a serious illness affects the quality of life of patients who suffer from PICS.

The primary objective of ERAH-PICS would be to evaluate the recovery of daily life activities over the course of 1 year in patients who meet criteria for the risk of developing PICS.

As secondary objectives, it is proposed to evaluate the relationship between the recovery of daily life activities and the involvement of PICS areas (motor/functional, psychological, and cognitive) and to study the relationship between the recovery of daily life activities and the prevention of PICS received in the participating ICUs.

The study will involve a planned and complete follow-up of patients who meet the inclusion criteria and who agree to participate during one year, with structured consultations at 3, 6, and 12 months after hospital discharge.

“ERAH-PICS” has already been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, which is the promoting center of the study. If you are interested in participating or want more information about the study, you can write to: grupoitaca.pics@gmail.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Ángela Alonso Ovies – Principal Investigator