Abstract
In order to investigate stressful experiences of ICU patients who were on artificial respirators for 12 hours or longer and discover the factors relevant to such experiences, we developed the Japanese version of the ICU Stressful Experiences Questionnaire (ICU-SEQJ) consisting of 34 stressful experience items, and interviewed such patients before they left the ICU. Nearly 80 percent of the patients experienced thirsty, not being able to talk and nearly 70 percent experienced not being able to move freely, difficulty talking, discomfort caused by the endotracheal tube, pain and tense, with subjective levels ranging from moderately to very strongly stressful. Patients without previous histories, emergency patients admitted to the ICU and patients with jobs experienced significantly stronger stress. A multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the CRP value before extubation affected the stressful experiences more than the other factors. The intubation duration, analgesic and sedative doses, and pain complaints weakly collated with the stressful experiences. Among 96 patients, 10 patients remembered none of the 7 items relating to tracheal intubation. Their stressful experience levels were significantly low. The relevant factors were a high Propofol dose, deep sedation and old age. Since stressful experiences are problematic for many ICU patients, and are affected by patient ICU admission conditions and previous histories, nurses must predict patient needs, make assessments for each case and intervene to reduce stressful experiences.
