ABSTRACT
Introduction: Research into the long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues at an unprecedented pace. Many physical long-term symptoms of COVID-19 have been reported and include headache, fatigue, muscle pain and breathlessness, etc. Psychological effects are not dissimilar to survivors of SARS. There is limited qualitative research exploring the mental health impacts and experiences of hospitalized COVID-19 inpatients. Methods: A prospective qualitative study is planned to explore patient experiences post hospital discharge following a diagnosis of COVID-19. The research aims to gain an understanding of how COVID-19 affects quality of life (QoL) and functional abilities. Patients discharged from the hospital will be invited to take part in semi-structured interviews discussing their experiences of hospitalization and the impact of COVID-19 on their QoL. Interviews will be conducted at three and six months following discharge from hospital. This study will provide important qualitative insight and may inform clinical interventions and commissioning decisions. Trial registration: The study has Research Ethics Committee (REC) and Health Research Authority (HRA) approvals obtained from Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) [IRAS project ID 293196].
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is disproportionately affecting older people and those with underlying comorbidities. Guidelines are needed to help clinicians make decisions regarding appropriate use of limited NHS critical care resources. In response to the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance that employs the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) in a decision-making flowchart to assist clinicians in assessing older individuals' suitability for critical care. This commentary raises some important limitations to this use of the CFS and cautions against the potential for unintended impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the widespread implementation of the CFS with limited training or expert oversight. The CFS is primarily being used to assess older individuals' risk of adverse outcome in critical care, and to ration access to care on this basis. While some form of resource allocation strategy is necessary for emergencies, the implementation of this guideline in the absence of significant pressure on resources may reduce the likelihood of older people with frailty, who wish to be considered for critical care, being appropriately considered, and has the potential to reinforce the socio-economic gradient in health. Our incomplete understanding of this novel disease means that there is a need for research investigating the short-term predictive abilities of the CFS on critical care outcomes in COVID-19. Additionally, a review of the impact of stratifying older people by CFS score as a rationing strategy is necessary in order to assess its acceptability to older people as well as its potential for disparate impacts.