Laura Costa*, Elisabete Coelho, José Martins, Marina Costa, Anabela Mesquita and Luís Lencastre

Serviço de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal

*Corresponding Author: Laura Costa, Serviço de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal.

Received: November 03, 2022; Published: November 21, 2022

Abstract

Introduction: Severe COVID-19 survivors may experience decreased health-related quality of life, as well as physical and psychological disability after discharge. This study aimed to characterize the impact on the quality of life of severe COVID-19 patients admitted to a single Portuguese Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Methods: Retrospective case series of 119 consecutive patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to ICU from January to December 2020, in whom a EuroQol five-dimension five level (EQ-5D-5L) was used to access self-perceived quality of life. Demographic and clinical data were collected.

Results: Average ICU mortality was 40%. 51 patients undertook a EQ-5D-5L telephone survey, approximately 12 months after ICU discharge. A moderate impairment was identified in 43% of the patients and extreme impairment in 25% of the patients. Problems related to anxiety/depression were more frequently reported.

Discussion: Assessment of health-related quality of life has increasingly been recognised as crucial in severe COVID-19 survivors. Our study results are in line with available evidence in these patients, showing impairment in different aspects of quality of life, particularly those concerning pain/discomfort and anxiety disorders. The later were the most frequently reported in our analysis.

Conclusion: Health-related quality of life is negatively affected in severe COVID-19 survivors. An organized approach to manage the post-acute phase is needed to improve long-term outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; Intensive Care Units; Morbidity; Follow-Up Studies

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Citation

Citation: Laura Costa., et al. “Follow-up of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients After ICU Discharge”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 6.12 (2022): 57-60.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Laura Costa., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.