ABSTRACT
A handful of the most challenging ones began appearing at almost the same time. Since the end of 2019, schools, colleges, and universities have been swept up in heated debates over how to handle the intractable global pandemic. The controversy polarized schools in the US and abroad, and it complicated Hannah-Jones's bid for a tenured position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.2 Adding to these challenging public debates came a political and media frenzy over critical race theory. At a time when state support for higher education continues a multi-decade pattern of decline in the US, the rationale for establishing public universities explored in this study returns our attention to the many purposes of public institutions.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe by an observational cross-sectional study the clinical and functional situation, at one month after hospital discharge, of patients admitted with COVID-19 in the hospital ICU between March and December 2020. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 59 patients were studied using different clinical scales and biomechanical analysis tests (hand dynamometry, fall risk assessment, gait and balance analysis). RESULTS: At one month after discharge, patients reported persistent symptoms: dyspnea (47.5%), arthromyalgia (45%) and cough (22%). In the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire up to 73% of patients reported levels of anxiety or depression. 74.6% and 69.5% presented alterations in the strength of the right and left hand, respectively. The risk of falls in 38% of patients was moderate to very high. The somatosensory index remained within normal parameters, while the vestibular and, to a lesser extent, the visual indexes were altered. In gait, 81.4% of patients showed no abnormalities outside the normal range, with a normal average walking speed. CONCLUSIONS: In the short term after severe COVID-19, patients have persistent symptomatology, anxiety/depression, impaired balance with increased risk of falls and loss of grip strength in both hands.