'Fishing with the dead' - recall of memories from the ICU

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the memories of patients who had a short-term admission to the ICU, with a particular focus on dreams, nightmares and confusion. Descriptive data were collected from a target sample of 50 participants, by means of a questionnaire. Following this, eight patients who had completed and returned the questionnaire and had reported hallucinations, dreams or confusion participated in open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the data generated by the questionnaire revealed that the most common memories of ICU were anxiety, pain, thirst and nausea. Nightmares, hallucinations and confusion were also common and were reported to be highly distressing. The transcribed interviews were subjected to a thematic analysis. The themes that emerged were, reality and unreality, blackness and colour, powerlessness and purpose, and death. Participants described horrifying paranoid delusions. It is proposed that constant reassurance and explaining every day ICU happenings may assist patients to understand what they are experiencing and loved ones may provide an important link with reality.