Patients' dreams and unreal experiences following intensive care unit admission.

Dreams and unreal experiences occur commonly in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care unit. This study describes 31 patients' dreams and explores the relationship between patients' subjective recall 12-18 months after intensive care unit discharge and their observed behaviour during their intensive care unit stay. Semi-structured interviews revealed that 74% of longer-term ICU patients (> or = 3 days) reported dreaming, with the majority also describing frightening hallucinations. Only two patients reported long-term negative psychological sequelae, but the short-term consequence of hallucinations may also have an undiscovered impact on patients' recovery.