Fig. 3

Quality-of-life as measured by the SF-36 questionnaire (a) and the SRI questionnaire (b) in patients who were discharged from the ICU with a tracheostomy (n = 43) and ventilator dependency (n = 21) or weaned (n = 22) at ICU discharge*. *In the group of patients with ventilator dependency at ICU discharge (n=21) and at time of QOL assessment, 7 patients still required invasive ventilation, 4 non-invasive ventilation, 1 patient had a tracheostomy without ventilation and 9 patients had no ventilation and no tracheostomy. In the group of patients who were weaned at ICU discharge (n=22) and at time of QOL assessment, 1 required invasive ventilation, 3 patients had a tracheostomy without ventilation, and 18 had no ventilation and no tracheostomy