Clinical impact of COVID-19 respiratory infection 15 months after intensive care unit discharge.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of persistent COVID-19 symptoms in SARS-CoV-2 patients 15 months after ICU discharge,their impact on physical, psychological, and neurocognitive domains, and the burden on primary caregivers.

Design: Descriptive, ambispective observational study.

Setting: Intensive Care Unit from a tertiary-level hospital.

Patients: SARS-CoV-2 patients discharged from ICU.

Main variables of interest: demographics and hospitalization data. Questionnaires assesing persistent COVID symptoms, functional tests (6-Minute Walk Test), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), PTSD and Zarit Caregiver Burden scales. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata for Mac, version 14.2.

Results: 85 patients were evaluated, with a median age of 60.3 years (IQR 54.0-68.9), 70.6% males. A high percentage of patients reported musculoskeletal disorders such as arthralgia (44.7%) and myalgia (38.2%), cognitive impairments (52.9%), sleep disturbances (34.1%), asthenia (44.5%) and anxiety (34.5%). The overall BAI score was 2 (0-9), with paraesthesia being the most common symptom. Additionally, 29.4% of patients reported "fear of the worst", 35% had unpleasant or recurrent memories of their ICU stay, and 16.4% were unable to relax (moderate/severe degree). Interviews with primary caregivers revealed that 22.2% reported caregiving as a significant burden.

Conclusions: persistent COVID affects three primary functional domains: physical, cognitive and psychological, as well as on primary caregivers concerns and burdens.