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. 2021 Oct;30(10):2805-2817.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-021-02865-7. Epub 2021 May 12.

Quality of life of COVID-19 critically ill survivors after ICU discharge: 90 days follow-up

Lorenzo Gamberini  1 , Carlo Alberto Mazzoli  1 , Harri Sintonen  2 , Davide Colombo  3   4 , Gaetano Scaramuzzo  5 , Davide Allegri  6 , Tommaso Tonetti  7 , Gianluca Zani  8 , Chiara Capozzi  9 , Emanuela Giampalma  10 , Vanni Agnoletti  11 , Filippo Becherucci  12 , Elisabetta Bertellini  13   14 , Andrea Castelli  9 , Iacopo Cappellini  12 , Irene Cavalli  7 , Federico Crimaldi  13   14 , Federica Damiani  15 , Maurizio Fusari  8 , Giovanni Gordini  1 , Cristiana Laici  16 , Maria Concetta Lanza  17 , Mirco Leo  18 , Andrea Marudi  13   14 , Giuseppe Nardi  19 , Irene Ottaviani  5 , Raffaella Papa  20 , Antonella Potalivo  19 , Vito Marco Ranieri  7 , Emanuele Russo  11 , Stefania Taddei  21 , Carlo Alberto Volta  5 , Savino Spadaro  22 ; ICU-RER COVID-19 Collaboration
Collaborators, Affiliations

Quality of life of COVID-19 critically ill survivors after ICU discharge: 90 days follow-up

Lorenzo Gamberini et al. Qual Life Res. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: The onset of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic in Italy induced a dramatic increase in the need for intensive care unit (ICU) beds for a large proportion of patients affected by COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aim of the present study was to describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 90 days after ICU discharge in a cohort of COVID-19 patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation and to compare it with an age and sex-matched sample from the general Italian and Finnish populations. Moreover, the possible associations between clinical, demographic, social factors, and HRQoL were investigated.

Methods: COVID-19 ARDS survivors from 16 participating ICUs were followed up until 90 days after ICU discharge and the HRQoL was evaluated with the 15D instrument. A parallel cohort of age and sex-matched Italian population from the same geographic areas was interviewed and a third group of matched Finnish population was extracted from the Finnish 2011 National Health survey. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate potential associations between the evaluated factors and HRQoL.

Results: 205 patients answered to the questionnaire. HRQoL of the COVID-19 ARDS patients was significantly lower than the matched populations in both physical and mental dimensions. Age, sex, number of comorbidities, ARDS class, duration of invasive mechanical ventilation, and occupational status were found to be significant determinants of the 90 days HRQoL. Clinical severity at ICU admission was poorly correlated to HRQoL.

Conclusion: COVID-19-related ARDS survivors at 90 days after ICU discharge present a significant reduction both on physical and psychological dimensions of HRQoL measured with the 15D instrument.

Trial registration: NCT04411459.

Keywords: 15D instrument; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Health-related quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Harri Sintonen is the developer of the 15D and obtains royalties from its electronic versions. The other Authors have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patients flow through the study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
15D profile of the COVID-19-related ARDS survivors compared with age- and sex-matched Italian and Finnish populations
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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