Research Summary
Dr. Akgun's research is focused on critical illness in immunocompromised patients. Specifically, she is working with the Veteran's Aging Cohort Study (VACS) to investigate the risk factors for and incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in HIV-infected patients. She received funding from the American Subspecialty Physicians-American College of Chest Physicians CHEST Foundation investigating ICU admissions in older HIV-infected patients and the impact of age on ICU admission diagnosis and outcome in this patient population. She was also funded by VISN from from the Department of Veteran Affairs to describe patient- and ICU-level risk factors for decrements in quality of life outcomes in ICU survivors. She is beginning to identify frequency and content of family meetings for patients admitted to the ICU using electronic health records.

Specialized Terms: Critical care, Pulmonary disease in HIV and other immunocompromised hosts, Aging, HIV and critical illness Palliative and end of life care in the intensive care unit (ICU), Resident debriefing and emotional distress during training

Research Interests
Aging; Critical Care; Epidemiology; HIV; Intensive Care Units; Medical Oncology; Terminal Care; Veterans; Pulmonary Medicine; Immunocompromised Host; Palliative Medicine