Multidimensional Dysfunction in Patients With Post-Intensive Care Syndrome in China

Over the past two decades, the rapid advancement of critical care medicine has significantly reduced short-term mortality among critically ill patients. However, a growing number of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors experience persistent physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments after hospital discharge, a syndrome termed post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Although PICS has gained increasing attention in recent years, existing studies still have multiple limitations. Given the continuously increasing number of ICU survivors in China and the marked heterogeneity in critical care delivery models across different regions and healthcare institutions, there is an urgent need for large-scale multicenter observational studies to systematically characterize the epidemiological features, multidimensional functional impairment profiles, and clinical impact of PICS in Chinese patients, thereby providing an evidence-based foundation for the development of a scientific post-ICU continuum of care.