Patients’ experiences of cognitive impairment following critical illness: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Critical illness and admission to an
intensive care unit (ICU) can affect patients for months or
years following discharge as many suffer from cognitive
impairment. Long-term
cognitive impairment affects
patients’ quality of life and ability to adapt to everyday life.
Exploring their experiences on how and which cognitive
impairments are affecting their everyday lives facilitates
planning of relevant research on interventions that
may serve to alleviate the burden of post-ICU
cognitive
impairment. The objective of this scoping review is to map
the existing research on patients’ experiences of cognitive
impairment following critical illness.
Methods and analysis The methodology will follow the
Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for scoping reviews. The
databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Embase will
be searched to identify studies appropriate for inclusion.
Any peer-reviewed
original studies meeting the inclusion
criteria and include statements from adult patients about
how they experience cognitive impairment following
critical illness and ICU admission will be considered.
Studies published in English and Scandinavian languages
will be included, with no further geographical or cultural
limitations. The included studies will be screened by
two independent researchers using a standardised data
extraction tool and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool will
be used for critical appraisal. The results will be presented
in a tabular form, and data will be supported by narrative
descriptions or a narrative summary.
Ethics and dissemination Since the scoping review
methodology aims at synthetising existing research on
patients’ experiences of cognitive impairment following
critical illness, the scoping review does not require ethical
approval. The results will be disseminated though a peer-reviewed
publication in a scientific journal.