Scientists from the universities of Liege (Belgium) and Laval (Canada) identified the main types of near-death experiences among intensive care unit survivors and evaluated the impact of these experiences on quality of life. The results were published in the journal Intensive care.
A study of 126 patients hospitalized in intensive care units for at least 7 days revealed that 19 patients (15%) reported NDE.
Scientists believe that the emergence of these experiences is exacerbated by patients’ psychic beliefs as well as a tendency to dissociative symptoms. These factors were more strongly associated with the probability of NDE than various medical parameters (reason for hospitalization, use of sedatives).
One year later, patients were contacted by phone to measure their quality of life using the EuroQol questionnaire. NDEs had no long-term impact on quality of life.
Given that “near-death experiences” are often described as transformative and can be associated with negative emotions, scientists think it’s clinically appropriate to ask patients about possible memories upon awakening.