Vanderbilt ICU Recovery Program Pilot Trial

Every year, millions of Americans are admitted to the intensive care unit. Due to advances in critical care, mortality rates are decreasing, increasing the number of ICU survivors. Survivors of critical illness, however, often face physical, functional, and cognitive deficits that place them at risk for a cycle of re-hospitalization that frequently culminates in premature death. Moreover, post-ICU interventions may be resource-intensive and may be most cost-effective only in a subgroup of patients at highest risk. Whether a multi-disciplinary program to facilitate recovery from critical illness can prevent hospital readmission and improve quality of life among high-risk ICU survivors remains unknown. The primary aim of this pilot is to examine the feasibility of implementing a multidisciplinary ICU Recovery Program and the influence of such a program on process measures including contact with the ICU recovery team and attendance of ICU recovery clinic. The secondary aims are to compare the effect of an ICU Recovery Program on 30-day same-hospital readmission and other clinical outcomes.