Internal Medicine · 2 h ago
ESICM Consensus Sets Out Human-Centred ICU Care Framework
An international, multidisciplinary panel developed 43 consensus statements on human-centred partnership in intensive care. The recommendations cover communication, family involvement, emotional support, equity, the ICU environment and technology, but the statement is evidence-informed consensus rather than an evidence-based guideline.
- Panel endorsed 43 human-centred ICU consensus statements.
- Flexible family visitation and structured communication are recommended.
- Statement is evidence-informed consensus, not an evidence-based guideline.
The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) developed a consensus statement to guide human-centred partnership in intensive care units. The process involved 46 panel members, including ICU professionals, academics, and patient and family representatives, and rapid reviews addressing 20 PICO questions across six domains. Draft statements were assessed in two eDelphi rounds, with 201 stakeholders participating in round one and 149 in round two; an expert meeting endorsed 43 statements.
Recommendations include flexible family visitation, structured interdisciplinary communication, empathy-based staff training, psychological support for patients and ICU professionals, culturally responsive care, environmental measures to support sleep and reduce delirium, and integration of digitally supported technologies.
The authors describe the statement as evidence-informed consensus, not an evidence-based guideline. They note that the evidence base is heterogeneous and often relies on proxy outcomes such as satisfaction and psychological well-being rather than objective clinical endpoints. The framework offers practical directions across ICU settings, but the source does not establish that adopting the recommendations improves patient outcomes.
In practice
For ICU teams, the ESICM panel supports approaches including flexible family visitation, structured interdisciplinary communication, psychological support, culturally responsive care, and environmental measures aimed at improving sleep and reducing delirium. These are consensus directions for person-centred practice, not a formal evidence-based guideline or proof of improved clinical outcomes. The authors note that available evidence is heterogeneous and often uses proxy outcomes, so the statements should be understood as an evidence-informed framework rather than definitive evidence for specific interventions.
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Intensive Care Medicine: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine consensus statement on human-centred partnership in the intensive care unit ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.