ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
New and persistent psychoactive medication use in intensive care unit survivors with COVID-19: a multicentre population-based cohort study
Authors' conclusion
New psychoactive medication prescriptions were common (17.6%) in COVID-19 ICU survivors, among whom approximately half of patients were still receiving these medications 1 year later.
Study context
- Population
- Psychoactive-naïve adults admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19 who survived to hospital discharge, Alberta, Canada, January 2021–July 2022
- Participants
- 1,486 psychoactive-naïve adults
- Exposure
- New discharge prescriptions vs No new prescriptions
- New discharge prescriptionsn = 261
- Outcome
- Frequency of new psychoactive medication prescriptions after hospital discharge
Methodological detailsmulticentre, inverse probability of treatment weighting, linked provincial health data sets
- Multicentre
- Inverse probability of treatment weighting
- Linked provincial health data sets
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
New psychoactive prescriptions filled after discharge
New discharge prescriptions
17.6%
261
- Benzodiazepines
- 41%
- Opioids
- 28.3%
- Antipsychotics
- 20.3%
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
- 15.0%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | New discharge prescriptions | No new prescriptions | aOR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality · 1 yearInverse probability of treatment weighting | 10.3% | 5.4% | 1.64 (1.15–2.55) | |
| Re-hospitalization · 1 yearInverse probability of treatment weighting | 37.6% | 47.5% | 1.47 (1.20–1.81) | |
| ED visits · 1 yearInverse probability of treatment weighting | 58.2% | 41.8% | 1.95 (1.59–2.40) | |
| 0.20.5125Adjusted odds ratio (log scale) |
Persistent psychoactive medication dispensations among new recipients · 1 year
- New recipients with persistent medication dispensations
- 135 (51.7%)
Original publication
New and persistent psychoactive medication use in intensive care unit survivors with COVID-19: a multicentre population-based cohort study. Can J Anaesth. Published 9 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →