75% of COVID ICU survivors have physical symptoms 1 year on

One year after 246 COVID-19 survivors were treated in 1 of 11 intensive care units (ICUs) in the Netherlands, nearly 75% reported lingering physical symptoms, more than 26% said they had mental symptoms, and upwards of 16% still had cognitive symptoms, according to a study yesterday in JAMA. The prospective study was conducted among 246 patients 16 years and older admitted to an ICU from Mar 1 to Jul 1, 2020, and followed up to Jun 16, 2021. Average participant age was 61.2 years, 71.5% were men, average body mass index was 28.0 kg/m2 (overweight), and average ICU stay was 18.5 days. The research team surveyed participants about physical symptoms using the Clinical Frailty Scale, fatigue using the Checklist Individual Strength, mental symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using the Impact of Event Scale, and cognitive symptoms using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire-14 (score of 43 and up indicating cognitive symptoms).