ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Impact of ICU and post-ICU interventions on the psychological dimensions of patients' Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS): A systematic review with narrative synthesis
Authors' conclusion
Narrative and multimodal interventions showed the most consistent signals of benefits, particularly for PTSD, depression, and HRQoL, although evidence often came from studies with methodological limitations.
Study context
- Population
- ICU survivors39 studies
- Participants
- 8 / 6 / 2 / 10 / 1 / 1 / 11
- Comparison
- ICU and post-ICU interventions for psychological dimensions of PICS
- Physicaln = 8
- Self-management education strategiesn = 6
- Evaluative follow-upn = 2
- Narrativen = 10
- EMDRn = 1
- ICU simulation with virtual realityn = 1
- Multimodal interventionsn = 11
- Outcome
- HRQoL, anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms
Methodological detailsPRISMA, quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods designs eligible, RoB 2, ROBINS-I V2 and MMAT quality assessment, 3494 records identified; five databases searched
- PRISMA
- Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods designs eligible
- RoB 2, ROBINS-I V2 and MMAT quality assessment
- 3494 records identified; five databases searched
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Psychological outcomes
Studies reporting improvement in at least one psychological outcome
14
Studies reporting no benefit
23
Evaluative interventions associated with worse outcomes
2
Original publication
Impact of ICU and post-ICU interventions on the psychological dimensions of patients' PICS: A systematic review with narrative synthesis. J Crit Care. Published 18 June 2026. doi:10.
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