BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a multidisciplinary program carried out in a chronic ventilator facility on disability, autonomy, and nursing needs of patients after a prolonged ICU stay. Secondary outcome measures were survival, weaning rate, chronic ventilator facility stay, and discharge destination.

METHODS: Multidisciplinary assessment, clinical stabilization, weaning attempts, and a new Disabled Patients Autonomy Planning tool to assess daily care needs were investigated in 240 subjects in a chronic ventilator facility (52 subjects after cardiovascular surgery, 60 subjects with acute respiratory failure, 71 subjects withCOPD, and 57 subjects with neurological disease).

RESULTS: At admission, nursing needs, disability, and autonomy differed according to diagnosis (P < .001); weaned subjects had greater nursing needs (P < .001) and disability (P = .0014) than unweaned subjects. During the stay, 13.8% of the subjects died irrespective of diagnosis (P = .12); 47% (P < .001) were weaned with significant differences (P <.007) by diagnosis. In the 207 surviving subjects, nursing needs increased as disability increased (r = 0.59, P < .001) and autonomy decreased (r = −0.66, P < .001); disability and autonomy were inter-related (r = 0.61, P < .001). Oxygen saturation, hypercapnia, dyspnea, disability, autonomy, and nursing needs significantly improved (all, P < .001). Fifty-nine percent of the subjects were discharged home. Subjects discharged to nursing homes presented mainly neurological diseases, being more disabled and less autonomous, with higher nursing needs (all, P < .04). Mechanical ventilation use and tracheostomy increased the probability of being discharged to a nursing home (odds ratio [OR] of 1.84, P = .04; OR 2.47, P = .003, respectively). Mortality was higher in subjects who were ventilated (OR 8.44, P < .001), male (OR 2.64, P = .01), elderly (P < .001), or malnourished (P = .01) and in subjects with low autonomy (P < .001), greater nursing needs (P = .002), and more severe disabilities (P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS: A specialized tailored multidisciplinary program in subjects after an ICU stay contributed to recovery from disability, autonomy, and fewer nursing needs irrespective of diagnosis. Subjects discharged to a nursing home were the most severely disabled.