The impact of critical care transition programs on outcomes after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge: can we get there from here?

Although sometimes underestimated, the transition of care from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a medical or surgical hospital ward is a complex process with many potential challenges. Despite recovery from critical illnesses that lead to ICU admission, patients discharged from ICU remain at risk for successive clinical worsening during the hospital stay, which may result in readmission to ICU or even death (1-3). Moreover, ICU readmission is associated with poorer outcomes, such as lower ICU and hospital survival rates, prolonged hospitalisation, higher costs related to patient care, higher degrees of disability after ICU discharge and more emotional stress to patients and their families (1,2,4-6).