Public Defence: Anne Kathrine Langerud

Cand.san. Anne Kathrine Langerud at Institute of Clinical Medicine will be defending the thesis “Pain, Symptoms and Health Related Quality of Life in Intensive Care Survivors” for the degree of PhD (Philosophiae Doctor).

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Foto: Ine Eriksen, UiO

Trial Lecture – time and place

See Trial Lecture.

Adjudication committee

  • First opponent: Professor Pål Klepstad, NTNU
  • Second opponent: Associate professor Sigridur Zoega, University of Iceland
  • Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Adjunct Professor Olav Røise, University of Oslo

Chair of the Defence

Associate Professor Øyvind Skråstad, University of Oslo

Principal Supervisor

Professor Audun Stubhaug, University of Oslo

Summary

At the start of the work with this thesis few groups had studied pain, symptoms and health related quality of life (HRQOL) in the same sample of ICU survivors. The aim was to explore: the prevalence of chronic pain in ICU survivors at 3 months and 1 year after ICU discharge, the association between pain and anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in ICU survivors, and if HRQOL was different in ICU survivors compared to the general population and if social support, comorbidity and pain interference were associated with HRQOL in ICU survivors.

The study method was a survey, and data were collected at both 3 months and 1 year after discharge from study ICUs. The study sample was 118/89 adult ICU survivors from two mixed ICUs in Oslo University Hospital (OUS). The ICU survivors consented at 3 months after ICU discharge.

Prevalence rates of intensive care survivors’ symptoms at 3 months (n=118) were chronic pain 58 (49.2%), anxiety/depression 24/118 (20.8%), fatigue 18/118(15.3%), PTSS 15 (12.8%) and sleep disturbance 58/118 (49.2%). Prevalence rates at 1 year (n=89) changed only slightly; chronic pain 34 (38.2%), anxiety/depression 17 (20.0%), fatigue 12 (13.8%), PTSS 13 (15.1%) and sleep disturbance 40/89 (46.5%). Associations were strong between pain and presence of sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression, PTSS and fatigue. Physical and mental HRQOL were reduced at 3 months and 1 year in ICU survivors compared with the general population. This reduction was more pronounced at 3 months for physical HRQOL, while a small reduction in mental HRQOL was not clinically relevant. Social support was statistically significantly associated with increase in mental HRQOL at 3 months, while number of comorbidities and pain interference was statistically significantly associated with a reduction in physical HRQOL at 3 months and 1 year. Number of comorbidity was statistically significantly negatively associated with mental HRQOL at 1 year.

Additional information

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Published May 22, 2019 10:44 AM - Last modified May 29, 2019 5:03 PM