Body
Weakness, fatigue, and difficulty with everyday activities.
Understanding PICS
There is a name for
what you’re feeling.
Post-intensive care syndrome can affect the body, thinking, and emotional well-being after an ICU stay.
Mind
Problems with memory, attention, or organizing tasks.
Emotional health
Anxiety, depression, or symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Source: CIBS Center: PICS
What PICS means
PICS refers to difficulties that are new or have become worse after critical illness. A person may experience one area of difficulty or several at once. The effects may interfere with daily routines, relationships, or returning to work.
Some problems improve; others last. A healthcare professional can help assess symptoms and identify appropriate support.
Families need care, too.
Critical illness affects loved ones as well as patients. The term PICS-F recognizes the emotional and psychological effects that families may experience around an ICU stay.
Caregivers deserve support for their own well-being, alongside support for the person recovering.
Learn about survivor and caregiver support at VanderbiltUnderstanding the numbers
Common enough
to talk about.
30–50%
Estimated proportion of ICU survivors experiencing cognitive impairment.
Up to 1 in 3
Depression and anxiety affect up to one-third of ICU survivors in the CIBS Center’s overview.
Source: CIBS Center’s patient education overview, accessed September 17, 2026. These estimates vary with study population, definitions, and timing. They are not a single overall PICS rate, and the overview does not specify one shared follow-up time.
Read the underlying educational sourceARDS and recovery
Understanding
the connection.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious lung condition that can require intensive care. PICS describes possible effects after critical illness; the two terms do not mean the same thing.
ARDS survivors and families may benefit from both condition-specific information and support for life after the ICU.
Read the American Thoracic Society’s ARDS guideBring the conversation to your care team.
Write down the changes you have noticed and the questions you want to ask.
- Could these difficulties be related to my critical illness?
- What follow-up or rehabilitation might help?
- Is there a post-ICU clinic or support group available?
- Where can my family or caregiver find support?
Understanding the ICU experience
Delirium, memory, and recovery
Delirium can bring sudden changes in attention, thinking, and alertness during illness. Learning the term may help survivors and families make sense of a frightening ICU experience.
Source: American Delirium Society: What is Delirium?
Read our delirium guideSociety of Critical Care Medicine
Care that supports recovery
SCCM’s ICU Liberation Bundle brings six areas of ICU care together. Families can use this overview to ask about the care plan.
- AAssess, prevent, and manage pain
- BBoth spontaneous awakening and breathing trials, when appropriate
- CChoice of pain relief and sedation
- DDelirium assessment, prevention, and management
- EEarly mobility and exercise
- FFamily engagement and empowerment
Source: SCCM ICU Liberation Bundle (A–F). These are clinician-led care practices, adapted to the patient’s condition and safety needs.
Support for the whole family
SCCM’s family-centered care guideline addresses communication, family presence and involvement, ICU diaries, and support for emotional, spiritual, and bereavement needs.
Read SCCM’s family-centered care recommendations →The guideline is titled “2024” and was published in Critical Care Medicine in February 2025. For the 2025 PADIS focused update and related studies, visit our research collection.