Cognitive dysfunction after critical illness: measurement, rehabilitation, and disclosure
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Correspondence: Cheryl Misak cheryl.misak@utoronto.ca
Simcoe Hall, King's College Circle, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
Critical Care 2009, 13:312 doi:10.1186/cc7962
Published: 26 August 2009Abstract
A growing consensus seems to be emerging that neurocognitive outcomes are poor for patients who have been critically ill with acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ failure. However, intensive care unit delirium, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other outcomes must be considered as potentially confounding factors. Once the uncertainty around the causes of postmorbid cognitive functioning is acknowledged, there are practical implications for appropriate rehabilitative interventions and there are ethical implications for the kinds of appropriate disclosure to patients.