Intensive Care Impact on the Future Quality of Life of Handicapped Patients

Abstract

Handicap represents a set of complex situations including deficiencies, limitations in activity, in participation, and in interaction with medical affections, personal, environmental and social factors.

The needs for health of the handicapped patients are important but paradoxically insufficiently covered. The access to healthcare, in particular emergency, is difficult. Medical and paramedical staffs are badly trained for caring this population. If ICU stays can be source of handicap in patients previously valid, it is difficult to know their impacts for patients already handicapped, in particular in term of quality of life.

Numerous practical and ethical questions can arise but the survival can be good. The preventive aspects, and anticipation of emergency situations are major. The use of certain techniques, as tracheotomy, can increase the dependence. When possible, patients should be informed and prepared, in order to limit the impact of these procedures on their quality of life.