Participant retention in follow-up studies of intensive care unit survivors - A scoping review

Daniel L Young; Awsse Al-Ani; Mounika Lakhmalla; Vaishnavi Raman; Arooj Fatima; Lisa Aronson Friedman; Suryanarayana Reddy Challa; Sumana Vasishta; Mounica Koneru; Elizabeth Colantuoni; Dale M Needham; Victor D Dinglas; rest of the Scoping Review Team

doi:10.1016/j.aucc.2024.02.002

Participant retention in follow-up studies of intensive care unit survivors - A scoping review

Aust Crit Care. 2024 Apr 5:S1036-7314(24)00031-6. doi: 10.1016/j.aucc.2024.02.002. Online ahead of print.

Collaborators

rest of the Scoping Review Team:
Sai Phani Sree Cherukuri, Ngawang Dhonten, Stephanie Hiser, Pooja Kota, Roozbeh Nikooie, Bhavna Seth, Vishwanath Thondamala

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA; Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
² Preventive Cardiology Department, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
⁴ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology, Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷ NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership (NWSSP), Wales, United Kingdom.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
⁹ Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹⁰ Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
¹¹ Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA. Electronic address: victor.dinglas@jhmi.edu.

PMID: 38582625
DOI: 10.1016/j.aucc.2024.02.002

Abstract

Objective: To synthesize participant retention data and related reporting in studies evaluating post-hospital outcomes of survivors of critical illness after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay.

Review method used: A synthesis of literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist.

Data sources: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry. Hand searched reference lists and personal files of relevant narrative and systematic review articles.

Review methods: Articles were screened by pairs of independent reviewers. Similarly, data were abstracted by pairs of data collectors, with conflicts resolved by consensus or by a third reviewer.

Results: We included 243 publications, from 225 unique studies of 87,602 participants. Participant retention could not be calculated for any time-points in 13% of studies nor in 22% of all follow-up time-points. Retention ranged from 18-100%. When compared to follow-up before 1-month, retention at each later timepoint was not significantly different. Age and sex were not associated with retention and more recent studies had decreased retention (odds ratio: 0.94 [95% confidence interval: 0.92-0.96; p < 0.001]). Reporting of retention-related study methodology was inconsistent.

Conclusion: Retention rate could not be calculated for 22% of study follow-up time-points, with retention at the remaining time-points generally being high (≥85%), but with high variability (18% - 100%). ICU survivorship research could be improved via: (i) more detailed guidance on reporting participant retention, and (ii) use of existing resources and best practices to facilitate better study design and to improve participant retention to preserve statistical power and reduce selection bias.

Keywords: Acute respiratory failure; Cohort; Follow-up studies; Meta-analysis; Participant retention; Systematic review.

Publication types

Review