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Covid pneumonia, the Brescia study: “Excellent recovery”

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«One year after discharge from intensive care the world‘s first data in patients with severe respiratory failure associated with Covid-19 demonstrate an excellent recovery in terms of quality of life, return to work, independence in daily activities, cognitive and mental state. Physical function objectively measured in terms of both muscle strength and endurance remains significantly impaired; however, the outcomes are less severe than in patients with similar clinical severity ARDS admitted in the pre-Covid-19 era, supporting the fact that patient care has been of high quality despite the staggering numbers of the pandemic. “

This was stated by prof. Nicola Latronico of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit 2, author of «Physical, cognitive and mental health outcomes in 1-year survivors of Covid-19-associated Ards», A study published last September 29 in the prestigious British journal Thorax, the result of the collaboration between the” Alessandra Bono “University Research Center of the University of Brescia and the Center for the follow-up of patients discharged from the Intensive Care Unit. Asst Spedali Civili of Brescia. These are the first data in the world on outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with Covid-19, one year after intensive care.

The study reports the outcomes of 114 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with Covid-19 assessed at 3, 6 and 12 months after discharge from the intensive care unit with assessment of physical, mental and cognitive disorders (loss of muscle mass and strength, neuro-psychological complications, pain and other pathological conditions). The examination of muscle strength (handgrip test) showed significant improvements over time. Not so the 6-minute walk test, a physical endurance test, which stops on average at 80% of the predicted value, and severe fatigue perceived by one third of patients.

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Independence in the activities of daily living was achieved by 98% at 3 months. Memory and other cognitive impairments (28% at 3 months) improved over time, unlike symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, which were present in 9%, 10% and 4% at 3 months.