| Popis: |
Elderly survivors of critical illness often present depressive symptoms which have a significant impact on quality of life. Objective: To assess and compare depressive symptoms in people aged 65 years or older before and after ICU stay, as well as examining its prevalence. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative study and the sample consisted of 75 consecutive patients over the age of 64 years old who were discharged from the general and the cardiac ICUs, during three months. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale, six months after ICU discharge and previous to ICU admission. Results: The percentage of depressive symptoms in participants was 36,00% before ICU admission and 30,70% at six months follow-up, indicating the comparison of depressive symptoms scores before and after ICU stay no significant statistical difference. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms are common in elderly patients from a general and a cardiac ICU, six months after discharge and before admission. At six months follow-up, depressive symptoms scores slightly decreased but did not change significantly from those prior to ICU admission. More research is needed on the diagnosis and treatment of depression in elderly ICU patients. |
