Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
One year quality of life outcomes in critically ill children: a multicenter prospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
At 12-months, 58% of responding children remained below their pre-PICU baseline HRQoL, with persistent impairment most evident in physical and school functioning.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 1 month-17 years with PICU stay ≥ 48 h, 10 English PICUs, enrolled 2019–2022220 had ≥ 3 health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessments
- Participants
- 326 children
- Outcome
- Trajectory of HRQoL (PedsQL™ 4.0 Acute Versions) and fatigue over the first year after PICU discharge
- Follow-up
- 12-months
Methodological detailsmulticentre
- Multicentre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Mean PedsQL HRQoL score over time
- Change across time
- p < 0.001
- Below baseline HRQoL at discharge
- 71.8%
- Below baseline HRQoL among 12-month respondents
- 58.1%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
HRQoL domains
- Persistent impairment in physical and school functioning; cognitive functioning back to baseline by 1-month
Fatigue (PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue)
- Largely normalized by 6-months
Features associated with below-baseline HRQoL (Random Forest with SHAP)
- Higher baseline HRQoL and older age consistently influential features with worse HRQoL; physiological/illness markers important across timepoints
Original publication
One year quality of life outcomes in critically ill children: a multicenter prospective cohort study. Crit Care. Published 16 May 2026. doi:10.
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