Life Support Beyond Intensive Care Units
The University Hospital Leipzig is leading the way in Germany with its new specialised outpatient clinic, "LIVe! - Life after Intensive Care". This clinic aims to provide comprehensive care for patients who have survived intensive care treatment, addressing the long-term effects often associated with Post-Intensive-Care Syndrome (PICS).
PICS, a condition characterised by persistent physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments and a notably reduced health-related quality of life, affects over two-thirds of survivors three months after discharge from the intensive care unit. Patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation, a common intervention in ICU, tend to experience worse long-term outcomes, including higher mortality and reduced quality of life.
The new outpatient clinic at the University Hospital Leipzig is designed to address these challenges, offering multidisciplinary care aimed at managing and mitigating the long-term effects of PICS. The aftercare program targets improving functional recovery and quality of life after ICU discharge, acknowledging the complex, multi-dimensional needs of PICS patients.
The clinic provides a range of services, including physical rehabilitation, psychological support, and monitoring for complications arising from intensive care treatment. The interdisciplinary internal intensive care medicine department at the UKL already addresses family needs with its family-centered approach, and extending services to include family members is also part of the outpatient clinic's offerings.
New offers, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology, and clinic pharmacy support, are to be developed at the outpatient clinic. The goal of the outpatient clinic is to identify remaining symptoms and provide support to patients for at least six to twelve months, possibly longer. An appointment request can be made via email or phone, and a referral from the primary care physician is required to attend the appointment.
The outpatient clinic is initially an offer for patients who have been treated in the interdisciplinary internal intensive care medicine department of the UKL. The Interdisciplinary Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Leipzig aims to provide and further develop supporting offers to positively influence the restrictions caused by PICS. The hospital treats approximately 580 adults and children monthly across six intensive care units, and the Interdisciplinary Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Leipzig wants to continue improving intensive care medicine to prevent PICS.
In a noisy and light-intensive environment, artificial ventilation, while lifesaving, can lead to persistent swallowing problems. The new outpatient clinic, "LIVe! - Life after Intensive Care", is a significant step towards addressing these challenges and improving the lives of ICU survivors.
- The University Hospital Leipzig's new outpatient clinic, "LIVe! - Life after Intensive Care", is focusing on science and healthcare, particularly addressing the long-term effects of Post-Intensive-Care Syndrome (PICS) with its comprehensive care approach.
- Recognizing the multidimensional needs of PICS patients, the aftercare program at the outpatient clinic offers a variety of therapies and treatments, including physical rehabilitation, psychological support, and speech therapy.
- In addition to patient care, the outpatient clinic extends its services to family members, adopting a family-centered approach as part of the interdisciplinary internal intensive care medicine department at the UKL.
