e-PIC Study

eHealth’s role in Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (e-PIC)

Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) refer to physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments that persist post discharge. It is experienced by over half of survivors of critical illness with 80% of them being readmitted over a 2-year period. The consequences of PICS include a reduced capacity of functional independence, poorer quality of life, and delayed return to work. Despite being labelled as the most vulnerable periods (Brown et al., 2019), not much has been done currently during early post-discharge (< 3 months). Monitoring PICS symptoms during this period could be vital for patient’s long-term recovery.  

Sleep disturbance is among the constellation of PICS symptoms which has not been explored in particular detail. With the many established relationships between sleep and the three domains of PICS, the current project aims to explore:

  1. Relationships between the 3 domains of Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) and circadian health among early post-discharge intensive care patients (0-3 months).

  2. The effectiveness and feasibility of the pilot eHealth protocol in monitoring circadian health during the 3-month post discharge period.

  3. Identifying key circadian health markers to signpost rehabilitation interventions at 3 months post discharge.

The project uses recent technological developments (e.g. actigraphy) to address the gap between hospital discharge and 2-3 months follow up. These monitoring methods will be used to measure emerging impairments within the three domains of PICS in a non-invasive manner.

Researchers: Daniel Lai, Teresa C. D’Oliveira, Sukhi Shergill

Collaborators: Intensive Care Units (ICU) across KSS

Start date: October 2022 (3 year project)