Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Medicine (MMed)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Prof. Mung'ayi Vitalis

Department

Anaesthesiology (East Africa)

Abstract

Background: Critical care has evolved throughout the years since the polio outbreak when the first ICU was set up in the USA. There is an increasing number of survivors of critical illness. The survivors have been shown to have prolonged physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments. There is no current information on the status of this patient post-ICU in Africa.

Objectives: To measure the disability status of adult patients post general Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Discharge Using WHODAS 2.0.To determine the factors associated with the degree of disability.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. Patients admitted to AKUHN ICU, were on mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours, and survived hospital discharge were called on the phone. Once they were found to be alive and consented to the study, the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire was used. The level of disability was measured using the WHODAS 2.0 which has 12 items, where each item was scored between 0 and 4; and the total score was displayed as a percentage. Factors associated with the degree of disability were retrieved from the patient’s files. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 2.0. Results: 92 patients were enrolled in the study where 62.6% (n=57) were females. The disability status in our respondents was as follows; n=26(28.6%) of them had no disability, n=26(28.6%) mild disability and n=22(24.2%) had moderate disability, n=17(18.7%) of the patients reported severe disability while no participant had complete disability. Median age of 60 and length of ICU stay were found to be associated with moderate to severe disability. Other factors like; duration of mechanical ventilation, number of comorbid, use of muscle relaxant/steroids, and admission diagnosis were not found to be statistically significant in the degree of disability.

Conclusion: In this study, 57.2% of patients had no disability to mild disability while 42.8% were found to have moderate to severe disability. Patients who were found to have moderate to severe disability had longer ICU stays and were in the older population.

Share

COinS