Resumen de Psychiatric Diagnoses and Psychoactive Medication Use Among Nonsurgical Critically Ill Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation

Hannah Wunsch, Christian Christiansen, Martin B. Johansen

• Importance The relationship between critical illness and psychiatric illness is unclear.

  Objective To assess psychiatric diagnoses and medication prescriptions before and after critical illness.

  Design, Setting, and Participants Population-based cohort study in Denmark of critically ill patients in 2006-2008 with follow-up through 2009, and 2 matched comparison cohorts from hospitalized patients and from the general population.

  Exposures Critical illness defined as intensive care unit admission with mechanical ventilation.

  Main Outcomes and Measures Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) of psychiatrist-diagnosed psychiatric illnesses and prescriptions for psychoactive medications in the 5 years before critical illness. For patients with no psychiatric history, quarterly cumulative incidence (risk) and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for diagnoses and medications in the following year, using Cox regression.