Burnout syndrome in intensive care physicians in time of the COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of burnout syndrome among intensive care physicians working in a tertiary private hospital as well as their perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their life. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Intensive care units dedicated to the care of COVID-19 in Hospital Sirio-Libanes, Sao Paulo, Southeastern part of Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Intensive care physicians. INTERVENTIONS: Each participant received an envelope with a questionnaire composed of demographic and occupational variables, information related to their personal and professional experiences facing the COVID-19 pandemic and the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES MEASURES: The primary outcome was to assess the prevalence of burnout syndrome among physicians working in an intensive care unit dedicated to the care of COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 51 from the universe of 63 (82%) intensive care physicians participated in the study. Nineteen (37.2%) met the criteria for burnout syndrome. In the three domains that characterise burnout syndrome, we found a low level of personal achievement in 96.1% of physicians interviewed, a high level of depersonalisation in 51.0% and 51.0% with a high level of emotional exhaustion. Decision-making conflicts between the intensive care unit team and other attending physicians were frequent (50% of all conflicts). A third of the participants had been diagnosed with COVID-19, 22 (43.1%) reported having a family member infected and 8 (15.7%) lost someone close to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants felt that fear of infecting their loved ones was the aspect of their lives that changed most as compared with the prepandemic period. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout syndrome was frequent among intensive care unit physicians treating patients with COVID-19 in a large tertiary private hospital. Future studies should expand our results to other private and public hospitals and test strategies to promote intensive care unit physicians’ mental health.