Prolonged Grief Disorder Among Relatives of Deceased Patients in Intensive Care Unit During the French COVID-19 Lockdown: Results From the OLAF Study

Abstract

The death of a relative in an intensive care unit (ICU) represents a major psychological burden. During the first COVID-19 lockdown in France, strict visiting restrictions profoundly altered end-of-life experiences and bereavement. In this context, our University Hospital implemented OLAF, a temporary ICU–psychiatry liaison phone-support service for relatives. We conducted a one-year prospective follow-up study of relatives bereaved after an ICU death. The primary outcome was the prevalence of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) at 12 months. Secondary analyses explored the association between grief severity and early posttraumatic stress symptoms. Among 25 bereaved relatives, 5 (20%) met criteria for probable PGD at 12 months. Grief severity at 1 year was strongly associated with posttraumatic stress symptom severity measured three months after the loss. These findings highlight the close relationship between traumatic stress and prolonged grief and provide a descriptive illustration of an ICU–psychiatry liaison model implemented under crisis conditions.