| Anotation | Patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units (ICUs) often report fragmented memories, nightmares, or delusions. These experiences are everyday and have a significant impact on patients' psychological state and quality of life after discharge (Samuelson et al., 2006; Tripathy et al., 2021). Research has identified four basic types of patient memories: factual events, feelings of pain or fear, nightmares, and intrusive memories and memory lapses. Each type is characterised by a different prevalence, short-term trajectory, and clinical correlates, with deusive memories and memory gaps being most strongly associated with long-term anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and reduced quality of life (Deja et al., 2006; Venni et al., 2018,14 Studies 2018); Within days of discharge, most patients no longer report memories of pain, fear, or factual events (decreasing to less than 5%), while memory gaps and delusional memories may persist and predict worse psychological and functional outcomes (Tripathy et al., 2021; Razban et al., 2022). Mechanisms for the emergence and persistence of these memories include the depth and type of sedation, the occurrence of delirium, the duration of mechanical ventilation, and the frequency of ICU cleaning procedures. Persistent delusional memories and memory gaps affect patients' daily functioning, their ability to return to work, and their overall quality of life. Patients often describe difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, and limited social activity (Tripathy et al., 2021; Razban et al., 2022; Sousa et al., 2024). Intervention studies suggest that structured ICU diaries and active family support can alleviate psychological consequences, reduce posttraumatic symptoms and improve patients' perceived quality of life (Venni et al., 2018). Overall, available foreign evidence shows that subjective memories and nightmares during mechanical ventilati |
