Outcomes in Patients with Long COVID-19 One Year After their Discharge from Intensive Care Units

This study followed 454 patients who survived severe COVID-19 and were discharged from the ICU, assessing their health one year later. The median age was 64, with 64.7% being male. Results showed that 14.9% were readmitted to the ICU, with a hospital mortality rate of 10.2%. The Health-Related Quality of Life score decreased from 52.5 before ICU admission to 44.3 at the one-year follow-up. Significant differences were noted in clinical frailty and cognitive symptoms compared to baseline. A breathlessness grade of 3-4 was observed in 39.8% of patients. The study concludes that managing ICU survivors of severe COVID-19 requires a multi-disciplinary approach, including preventive measures, rehabilitation, and treatment strategies to address residual symptoms.