Fig. 3

An alluvial diagram of physical impairment, cognitive impairment, mental health, and quality of life. The Barthel index (BI), Short-Memory Questionnaire (SMQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)-anxiety, HADS-depression, and EuroQol 5 dimensions 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) were used to assess physical function, cognitive function, mental health, and QOL, respectively. The alluvial diagram illustrates the transitions in scores for each assessment, classified into three groups based on the duration of mechanical ventilation: less than 7 days, 7 to 14 days, and more than 14 days, among patients who completed all four surveys (n = 178). Outcome scores were stabilized using inverse probability weighting to account for missing data. The included covariates were age, sex, BMI, SOFA score, clinical frailty scale, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, chronic kidney disease, autoimmune disease, malignancy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and immunodeficiency), reintubation, ECMO, tracheostomy, prolonged neuromuscular blockade, prone positioning, maximum daily equivalent dose of prednisolone, continuous renal replacement therapy, intermittent renal replacement therapy, rehabilitation, delirium, duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay, hospital stay, presence of family, and use of an ICU diaries. For each assessment, patients classified into the best category at the fourth survey are represented by red bands, while those classified into the worst category are depicted by gray bands. The Barthel Index and EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) showed a prominent upward trend in red bands and a downward trend in black bands. These trends diminished in frequency and thickness in the later stages of the survey, indicating that many patients exhibited consistent trends of recovery or deterioration. In contrast, the Short-Memory Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale revealed less discernible directional changes, with wider and more frequent fluctuations in the bands as the surveys progressed. This suggests that many patients experienced variability in their assessments. Furthermore, among patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 14 days, a higher proportion were classified in the gray (worst) category across all assessments by the fourth survey. However, as indicated by the limited presence of fluctuating bands, fewer patients exhibited variability in their scores