Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With 1-Year Survival Following Intensive Care Unit Treatment for COVID-19

IMPORTANCE One-year outcomes in patients who have had COVID-19 and who received treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) are unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess the occurrence of physical, mental, and cognitive symptoms among patients with COVID-19 at 1 year after ICU treatment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An exploratory prospective multicenter cohort study conducted in ICUs of 11 Dutch hospitals. Patients (N = 452) with COVID-19, aged 16 years and older, and alive after hospital discharge following admission to 1 of the 11 ICUs during the first COVID-19 surge (March 1, 2020, until July 1, 2020) were eligible for inclusion. Patients were followed up for 1 year, and the date of final follow-up was June 16, 2021. EXPOSURES Patients with COVID-19 who received ICU treatment and survived 1 year after ICU admission. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcomeswere self-reported occurrence of physical symptoms (frailty [Clinical Frailty Scale score >= 5], fatigue [Checklist Individual Strength-fatigue subscale score >= 27], physical problems), mental symptoms (anxiety [Hospital Anxiety and Depression {HADS} subscale score >= 8], depression [HADS subscale score >= 8], posttraumatic stress disorder [mean Impact of Event Scale score >= 1.75]), and cognitive symptoms (Cognitive Failure Questionnaire-14 score >= 43) 1 year after ICU treatment and measured with validated questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this exploratory study of patients in 11 Dutch hospitals who survived 1 year following ICU treatment for COVID-19, physical, mental, or cognitive symptoms were frequently reported.

Automated summary

The study found that physical, mental, and cognitive symptoms were frequently reported among COVID-19 patients one year after ICU treatment.