Perspectives of ICU Patients on Deferred Consent in the… : Critical Care Medicine
eflect on their participation in a study with deferred consent and examine whether their opinions are influenced by the quality of life (QoL) following hospital discharge. DESIGN: Survey study by questionnaire. SETTING: Eight ICUs in The Netherlands. PATIENTS: Former ICU patients who participated in the ICONIC trial, a multicenter randomized clinical trial that evaluated oxygenation targets in mechanically ventilated ICU patients. INTERVENTIONS: Participants enrolled in the ICONIC trial in one of the eight participating centers in The Netherlands received a questionnaire 6 months after randomization. The questionnaire included 12 close-ended questions on their opinion about the deferred consent procedure. QoL was measured using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. By calculating the EQ-5D index, patients were divided into four QoL quartiles, where Q1 reflects the lowest and Q4 is the highest. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 362 participants who were contacted, 197 responded (54%). More than h