PERFIL CLÍNICO-EPIDEMIOLÓGICO, DE PACIENTES ACOMETIDOS PELA COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 was first documented in Wuhan, China in 2019 and quickly spread worldwide. With the large number of recovered patients, some post-infection consequences were noticed. The most common symptoms being fatigue/ muscle weakness, dyspnea, post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunctions, sensorimotor symptoms, and headaches. Previous studies have shown that the persistence of at least one symptom leads to a lower physical and mental quality compared to those who were asymptomatic. AIMS: The primary aim of this study was to describe and analyze persistent symptoms of patients that were hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection after 30, 90 and 180 days from ICU discharge and assess the patients’ health satisfaction and health related quality of life in these three moments. Secondarily, we evaluated the patients’ functionality through the WHODAS 2.0 (36 items) survey in 30 days after the ICU discharge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a multicentric prospective cohort study of COVID-19 survivors discharged from six hospitals in Curitiba, Paraná between September 2020, and January 2022. The population includes patients aged 18 and older with confirmed COVID-19 infection by a PCR test that were discharged from the ICU. Eligible patients were contacted by phone by trained researchers. Among the 164 respondents, 37,8% (n=62) participated of the three interview moments. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 164 patients, the mean age was 52.4 years old, median length of ICU stay of 11 days, with a range of 1 to 128 days, and female patients were the highest responders. The most prevalent symptoms at 30, 90 and 180 days after ICU discharge were fatigue (65,9%, 51,3% and 44,7%, respectively). The second most common symptom was mild dyspnea (42%, 31% and 29,8%, respectively) and the third most reported symptom was myalgia (29%, 22,1% and 17%, respectively). However, at 30, 90 and 180 follow up days, most patients post COVID 19 had reported “good” quality of life (57,2%, 63,1% and 50,5%, respectively), and patients that reported “very good” quality of life increased from 11,6% in 30 days to 19,4% in 180 days. The most affected domain from WHODAS 2.0 in patients after 30 days after ICU discharge was Life activities, which includes domestic activities, study and work. The second domain most affected was participation, that analyze the patient’s participation in community activities, physical barriers, and maintenance of personal dignity. And the third most affected domain was Mobility. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Our findings lead us to conclude that even if patients are not fully recovered, they considered themselves with good quality of life and health status. To explain this controversy, we analyzed the World Health Organization concept of health, that defines health as more than the absence of disease or infirmity, considering health a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.

KEYWORDS: COVID-19; Post COVID-19 syndrome; Intensive Unit Care; Quality of life; Health