PICS-p is a prospective longitudinal cohort study of pediatric patients experiencing 3 or more days of intensive care therapies at one of approximately 30 U.S. PICUs to evaluate child and family outcomes over two years post-PICU discharge. We will compare outcomes of these PICU patients with a control group of patients who received an overnight PICU stay but did not receive intensive care therapies, as well as with published quality of life data from the general and chronically ill populations. Children and their families will be enrolled locally from each PICU, their baseline data will be collected by local research staff, and their post-discharge outcomes will be followed centrally from the University of Pennsylvania and the Seattle Children's Research Institute. Our specific aims are to determine the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social health outcomes and trajectory of recovery in a population of children post-critical illness; to determine the baseline health, presenting problem, and PICU factors associated with impaired physical, cognitive, emotional, and social outcomes among PICU survivors; and to determine the emotional and social health outcomes in parents and siblings of PICU survivors. Our primary goal is to explicate the impact of pediatric critical illness over a two-year period of time to guide future intervention research to optimize child and family outcomes. Our overall goal is to improve the health and well-being of PICU survivors and their families.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) survival has increased substantially over the past three decades. Currently, an understanding of PICU morbidity and recovery among PICU survivors and their families is limited. Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) consists of new or worsening impairments in physical, cognitive, or mental health status that arise and may persist after critical illness. The characteristics of PICS in children (PICS-p) are unknown. The objective of this study is to learn about pediatric recovery from critical illness to guide future intervention research to optimize child and family health.