ArticleScientific reports2022
Video calls did not reduce PTSD symptoms in relatives during restricted ICU visits in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of digital communication tools on patients, family members and health care professionals in adult ICUs: a mixed-methods systematic review.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of restricted family presence during the COVID-19 pandemic on critically ill patients, families, and critical care clinicians: a qualitative systematic review.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- User Experience of a Bespoke Videoconferencing System for Web-Based Family Visitation for Patients in an Intensive Care Unit: 1-Year Cross-Sectional Survey of Nursing Staff.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- The Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Hospital Visitation Bans in the COVID-19 Era.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To help reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the COVID-19 pandemic, ICU visits were banned or restricted. Therefore, family-centered care as usually practiced was not feasible Video calls were recommended to meet relatives' needs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of video calls on symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in relatives of ICU patients. This single-center study was performed during the first wave (15.03.2020‒30.04.2020; visits banned) and the second wave (01.10.20‒08.02.21: visits restricted) of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess PTSD symptoms and an adapted version of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit 24-Item-Revised questionnaire (aFS-ICU 24R) to assess family satisfaction 3 months after ICU stay. The primary outcome was the difference in IES-R score at 3 months between the video call group (VCG) and the standard care group (SCG, no video calls). In addition, inductive content analysis of relatives' comments regarding their satisfaction with decision-making and ICU care was performed. Fifty-two relatives (VCG: n = 26, SCG: n = 26) were included in this study. No significant difference in IES-R scores was observed between the VCG and the SCG (49.52 ± 13.41 vs. 47.46 ± 10.43, p = 0.54). During the ICU stay (mean 12 days, range 5.25‒18.75 days), the members of the VCG made a median of 3 (IQR 1‒10.75) video calls. No difference between the groups was found for conventional telephone calls during the same period (VCG: 9 calls, IQR 3.75‒18.1; SCG: 5 calls, IQR 3‒9; p = 0.12). The aFS-ICU 24R scores were high for both groups: 38 (IQR 37‒40) in the VCG and 40 (IQR 37‒40: p = 0.24) in the SCG. Video calls appeared largely ineffective in reducing PTSD symptoms or improving satisfaction among relatives affected by banning/restriction of ICU visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further investigations are needed to acquire more data on the factors involved in PTSD symptoms experienced by relatives of ICU patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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