Caring for COVID-19 patients and their relatives with the ICU diary

Excerpt

A 46-year-old patient was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An ICU diary was started after 2 days of mechanical ventilation. The diary had a dedication to the patient and a brief presentation of the hospital and the ICU team in the first two pages. A summary was then written around the beginning of the symptoms until the ICU admission. Thereafter, the story of the disease was written on a daily basis until the day of ICU discharge. Pages were numbered with the dates at the top (see Fig. 1). No days were missed. Physicians, physiotherapists, nursing staff, and relatives contributed with diary entries about clinical condition, and messages of hope for recovery. Photographs of the patient were taken in order to register clinical landmarks and nursing care. In the ward, the relatives kept writing in the diary until hospital discharge. Two weeks later, the ICU diary was given to him, and he and his relatives appreciated and recommended the ICU diary as a proof of care.

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