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Intensive care
Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Reasons for admission :
Emergency admissions
Planned admissions
Experiences in intensive care :
Coming round and regaining consciousness
Sleep, dreams and hallucinations
Intensive care treatments
Physiotherapy
Emotional experiences in ICU
Nursing care in ICU
Death and bereavement
High Dependency Unit (HDUs)
Experiences in the general ward :
The general ward: care and environment
Physical and emotional experiences
Physiotherapy on the ward
Discharge and moving on
Recovering at home :
Physical recovery
Emotional aspects of recovery
Making sense of what happened
ICU follow-up care
Attitudes to life during and after recovery
Impact on family
Impact on work
Sources of support
Messages to others
Information
For people admitted to ICU for emergency treatment
Planned admissions
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
Subject index
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Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 30 and under
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Interview 17
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Because of his pneumonia and chest pains, he was admitted to intensive care where doctors could keep a close eye on his progress.
Has sickle cell anaemia and was experiencing chest pain, which turned out to be pneumonia. Breathing difficulties led to ICU admission and, because of multiple organ failure, spent about 12 days in ICU. Following ICU, spent 2 weeks in general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 41-50
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Interview 26
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He remembered the conversation he had with his wife before he was sedated in intensive care but nothing else until he came round about two weeks later
Was admitted to intensive care in 2005 because of severe pneumonia. Spent 30 days in intensive care and 8 days in a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 31-40
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Interview 06
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Her family were all at the hospital when they found out she was critically ill, and she later learnt that she had pneumonia and septicaemia.
Was admitted to intensive care in 2003 because of pneumonia, and developed septicaemia. Spent 3 weeks in ICU, 36 hours in a High Dependency Unit and 5 weeks on a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 31-40
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Interview 05
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Her husband made the difficult decision of consenting to her having a new drug.
Had pneumonia and severe sepsis. Was in intensive care for 22 days, the High Dependency Unit for 10 days and just over a week on a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 41-50
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Interview 24
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She got snippets of information from family and nurses and from reading her cards and letters.
Was admitted to intensive care in 2004 because of severe pneumonia. Spent about 5 weeks in intensive care and nearly 2 weeks in a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 41-50
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Interview 24
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She remembered hearing voices, having treatments and coming round unable to do anything for herself (she had pneumonia).
Was admitted to intensive care in 2004 because of severe pneumonia. Spent about 5 weeks in intensive care and nearly 2 weeks in a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 31-40
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Interview 05
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She found it difficult to hold a pen and felt frustrated because her writing was unintelligible (she had pneumonia and sepsis).
Had pneumonia and severe sepsis. Was in intensive care for 22 days, the High Dependency Unit for 10 days and just over a week on a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 31-40
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Interview 06
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She appreciated talking to a nurse about her psychological recovery but would have liked more on-going support while she was at home.
Was admitted to intensive care in 2003 because of pneumonia, and developed septicaemia. Spent 3 weeks in ICU, 36 hours in a High Dependency Unit and 5 weeks on a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 31-40
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Interview 05
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She was hallucinating when she came round and felt terrified of the nurses (she had pneumonia and sepsis).
Had pneumonia and severe sepsis. Was in intensive care for 22 days, the High Dependency Unit for 10 days and just over a week on a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 51-60
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Interview 02
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He had a breathing tube in his mouth so got the nurses' attention by shaking a container that rattled (he had pneumonia).
Had very severe cold and coughing in 2005, which turned out to be pneumonia. Was in intensive care for nearly a month and in general ward for about 4 days. Has now fully recovered.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 41-50
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Interview 26
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He panicked because having a tracheostomy triggered memories from his childhood and his father's experience of illness.
Was admitted to intensive care in 2005 because of severe pneumonia. Spent 30 days in intensive care and 8 days in a general ward.
Intensive care
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Intensive care: Patients' experiences
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Aged 30 and under
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Interview 17
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His family wondered how he'd got pneumonia and MRSA when he was in hospital, and was surprised to overhear medical staff discussing him privately.
Has sickle cell anaemia and was experiencing chest pain, which turned out to be pneumonia. Breathing difficulties led to ICU admission and, because of multiple organ failure, spent about 12 days in ICU. Following ICU, spent 2 weeks in general ward.
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