Article

Survivors of critical illness frequently have severe and long-lasting cognitive
impairments and psychiatric disorders, which adversely affect functional outcomes
including return to work, and quality of life. While data regarding cognitive
outcomes has increased over the last 15 years, neuroimaging data in medical and
surgical critical populations is extremely limited. The abrupt development of new
significant cognitive impairments after critical illness along with abnormalities
on neuroimaging suggest that critical illness results in new acquired brain
injury, similar to that observed in other acquired brain injuries. Abnormalities
on neuroimaging including cortical and subcortical lesions, brain atrophy, and
white matter hyperintensities (WMH) which occur in widely distributed brain
regions. Patients admitted to neurorehabilitation who received critical care
related to their primary diagnosis may have sustained neurological injury from
the nonspecific effects of their critical illness and as demonstrated in this
review, generalized, non-specific neuroimaging findings may be observed and
quantified. Given the high prevalence rate of cognitive impairments in this
population, neuroimaging is important to help elucidate neuropathology of
critical illness acquired brain injury and may be beneficial in guiding
rehabilitation outcomes in this population.

Langue : ANGLAIS