61 HRQOL, HEALTHCARE UTILISATION AND BACK-TO-WORK ACTIVITIES IN ICU-SURVIVORS 4 control of 65–75 years old group- at twelve months were allocated to the physical NR-group.6,10 Patients with higher scores were assigned to the recovery (R)-group. Additional survey information about work activities and healthcare utilisation were obtained. In case of non-response, patients were reminded via e-mail or telephone. When a hospital visit deemed not to be feasible, a researcher visited the patient at their home or rehabilitation environment. If applicable, the questionnaire was completed verbally with the assistance of a researcher. Baseline and ICU-characteristics were collected as standard care and retrieved from electronic patient data files. Medical comorbidities were indicated as stated in the National Intensive Care Evaluation.11 The clinical frailty scale (CFS), consisting of one domain with a score range of one for ‘Very fit’ to nine for ‘Terminally ill’, was used to evaluate pre-admission physical performance and independence.12 4.2.3 Statistical analysis After study completion, data were processed in a coded file in January 2021. After taking into account the sample size of the study, variables were summarised as median [interquartile range, IQR] and frequencies (percentage). Differences between the R-group and NR-group, both at baseline and during the first year after admission, were assessed per predefined protocol using appropriatestatistical tests. P-valueswereestimatedbyusing theMann-Whitney U test, the two-sided Fisher’s Exact test in case of dichotomous data, or the Pearson Chi-Squared test in case of categorical variables within more than 2 groups. Repeated measures in the R-group and NR-group were tested using Friedman’s test. In case of statistical significance, post-hoc analysis using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted with a Bonferroni correction. A two-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant, or p < 0.008 after Bonferroni correction. SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27 (IBM) and GraphPad Prism version 5.0.4. for Windows (GraphPad Software) were used for statistical testing and visualisation of the data. RAND-36 domain score outcomesweredisplayedvisuallyusingMicrosoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation). Results of this study were reported using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies (STROBE) checklist.13 4.2.4 Bias and missing data Missing data due to either early mortality, severe cognitive impairments, or other reasons for loss to follow-up, are common in critical care research, and might be associated with disease burden and lack of recovery. To limit potential
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