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. 2022 Oct;27(4):e1965.
doi: 10.1002/pri.1965. Epub 2022 Jun 29.

Post-COVID-19 functional limitations in hospitalized patients and associated risk factors: A 3-month follow-up study

Masumeh Bayat  1 , Seyed Ahmad Raeissadat  1 , Shervin Lashgari  1 , Najmeh Sadat Bolandnazar  1 , Seyed Nima Taheri  2 , Mohammad Soleimani  3
Affiliations

Post-COVID-19 functional limitations in hospitalized patients and associated risk factors: A 3-month follow-up study

Masumeh Bayat et al. Physiother Res Int. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Many patients experience post-COVID-19 functional limitations. This study aimed to monitor the functional improvement of patients over 3 months of follow-up and determine the risk factors.

Methods: This prospective cohort study evaluated 100 hospitalized patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection. The mean age was 53.2 ± 13.1 years. Fifty-nine had at least one comorbid condition. The mean lengths of the hospital and ICU stays were 7.8 ± 3.3 and 5.3 ± 2.5 days, respectively. The functional status of the patients was evaluated using functional independence measure (FIM) and post-COVID-19 functional status (PCFS) questionnaires at four time-points of discharge, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after discharge.

Results: Mean FIM score was 107.2 ± 17.4 at the time of discharge, 113.3 ± 14.9 at 1 week, 120.3 ± 10.2 at 1 month, and 124.3 ± 6.4 at 3 months after discharge (p < 0.001). The PCFS score was 2.71 ± 1.25 at discharge, 2.09 ± 1.3 at 1 week, 1.14 ± 1.1 at 1 month, and 0.64 ± 0.59 at 3 months after discharge (p < 0.001). Female sex, older age, and the lengths of hospital and ICU stays were negatively correlated with the functional status score.

Discussion: Post-COVID-19 functional limitations are observed in hospitalized patients and improve over 3 months after discharge. Female sex, older age, longer hospital, and ICU stays are risk factors that negatively impact functional status.

Keywords: COVID-19; functional status; rehabilitation; risk factor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow diagram of the study inclusion and exclusion
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Continuous improvement of functional independence score over 3 months
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Continuous improvement of post‐COVID‐19 functional status over 3 months
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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