Most people have fears of being stuck in the hospital knowing that they are very sick. But extended stays in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can have life lasting effects. The ICU is for critically ill patients who need constant monitoring. The length of stay in the ICU can enhance the risks of life altering issues. One of the most common issues with patients is called Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). PICS is a combination of physical and cognitive disabilities that can occur to patients after staying in the ICU for as short as a week. PICS with any luck can be avoided with help from positive professionals and family members, but the symptoms can develop from the sedatives used in the ICU that can cause psychosis and the decreased quality…show more content… New sedation guidelines from the American College of Critical Care Medicine suggests that nurses and doctors should avoid benzodiazepines as sedatives for critically ill patients. These drugs known as “benzos” include popular generic drugs such as Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. One woman’s account of staying in the ICU was that she saw bugs crawling on the walls, that when the food carriage came in her room that her body parts were going to be sold, and that when the helicopter outside her room flew away that the hospital was on fire and they were leaving her there to die. These delusions under sedation can cause night terrors for life and flashbacks to the patients ICU stay. Just like a solider coming home from war these vivid delusions can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Hospitals often over sedate the patients in the ICU. A normal person will fall asleep within an hour of taking 0.5 mg of Ativan. Some critically ill patients are pumped with up to 4 mg of Ativan an hour to keep them sedated. If a patient has kidney failure and they are being giving sedatives how can the drugs leave their system? Most patients would have a blood transfusion to bring clean blood and get the toxins out of the body. Even with a blood transfusion the drugs can linger in a patient for weeks following the last dose, making the patient feel hazy, confused and overall very lethargic. The sedation used in the…show more content… Any trauma patient will be happy to leave the hospital. But any mental and physical limitations not present before will likely cause depression. The University of Vanderbilt found in 2014 that 37% of ICU survivors will show signs of depression up to three months after hospitalization, and one third show signs up to a year later. This depression can be caused by fear, by new disabilities and also the guilt of a patient and what they put their family through. Families also can develop PICS. Families are faced with a harsh reality and tough decisions. 30% of family members may experience their own mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and PTSD. (Society of Critical Care Medicine) Family members may also stress the things they could have done different to avoid the unavoidable situation. One family member staying in the ICU is very hard for the family unit. PICS can decrease quality of life for all