Less inappropriate medication: first steps in medication optimization to improve post-intensive care patient recovery

Excerpt

Patients in our intensive care units (ICUs) require numerous modifications to their medication regimens throughout their critical illness. Most modifications involve the initiation of new medicines to treat acute illness or support the delivery and tolerability of therapeutic interventions (e.g., sedation for mechanical ventilation), while preventing and managing adverse events (e.g., venous thromboembolism, stress ulceration, arrhythmias). Use of these acute medicines is guided by evidence-based practice via local systems and processes, with consideration of patient status and pre-existing medication regimen. As critical illnesses stabilize and recovery begins, what happens to these acute medicines when no longer indicated, what are the implications of continued use for patients, their families, and healthcare utilization, and what can we do to reduce unnecessary medication burden [1, 2]? …