Ninety-day outcomes in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in São Paulo, Brazil: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 has been associated with a significant burden to those who survive the acute phase. We aimed to describe the quality of life and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 90 days after hospital discharge of COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Patients with COVID-19 admitted to a private hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between April of 2020 and April of 2021 were interviewed by telephone at 30 and 90 days after discharge to assess the quality of life and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. RESULTS: A total of 2,138 patients were included. The mean age was 58.6 ± 15.8 years, and the median length of hospital stay was 9.0 (5.0-15.8) days. Between the two time points, depression increased from 3.1% to 7.2% (p < 0.001), anxiety increased from 3.2% to 6.2% (p < 0.001), and PTSD increased from 2.3% to 5.0% (p < 0.001). At least one physical symptom related to COVID-19 diagnosis persisted in 32% of patients at day 90. CONCLUSIONS: Persistence of physical symptoms was high even at 90 days after discharge. Although the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD was low, these symptoms persisted for three months, with a significant increase between the time points. This finding indicates the need to identify at-risk patients so that they can be given an appropriate referral at discharge.

Association of Frailty, Organ Support, and Long-Term Survival in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19

OBJECTIVES: Few studies have explored the effect of frailty on the long-term survival of COVID-19 patients after ICU admission. Furthermore, the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) validity in critical care patients remains debated. We investigated the association between frailty and 6-month survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients. We also explored whether ICU resource utilization varied according to frailty status and examined the concurrent validity of the CFS in this setting. DESIGN: Ancillary study of a longitudinal prospective cohort. SETTING: University hospital in São Paulo. PATIENTS: Patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to ICU. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We assessed baseline frailty using the CFS (1–9;frail ≥ 5) and used validated procedures to compute a Frailty Index (0–1;frail > 0.25). We used Cox models to estimate associations of frailty status with 6-month survival after ICU admission and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) to estimate CFS’s accuracy in identifying frailty according to Frailty Index. We included 1,028 patients (mean age, 66 yr;male, 61%). Overall, 224 (22%) patients were frail (CFS ≥ 5), and 608 (59%) died over the 6-month follow-up. Frailty was independently associated with lower 6-month survival and further stratified mortality in patients with similar age and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. We additionally verified that the CFS was highly accurate in identifying frailty as defined by the Frailty Index (AUC, 0.91;95% CI, 0.89–0.93). Although treatment modalities did not diverge according to frailty status, higher CFS scores were associated with withholding organ support due to refractory organ failure. CONCLUSIONS: One in five COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU was frail. CFS scores greater than or equal to 5 were associated with lower long-term survival and decisions on withholding further escalation of invasive support for multiple organ failure in the ICU. Clinicians should consider frailty alongside sociodemographic and clinical measures to have a fuller picture of COVID-19 prognosis in critical care.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Following COVID-19: Frailty and Disability Transitions in Critical Care Survivors.

OBJECTIVES: As the pandemic advances, the interest in the long-lasting consequences of COVID-19 increases. However, a few studies have explored patient-centered outcomes in critical care survivors. We aimed to investigate frailty and disability transitions in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: University hospital in Sao Paulo. PATIENTS: Survivors of COVID-19 ICU admissions. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We assessed frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). We also evaluated 15 basic, instrumental, and mobility activities. Baseline frailty and disability were defined by clinical conditions 2-4 weeks before COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 was characterized 90 days (day 90) after hospital discharge. We used alluvial flow diagrams to visualize transitions in frailty status, Venn diagrams to describe the overlap between frailty and disabilities in activities of daily living, and linear mixed models to explore the occurrence of new disabilities following critical care in COVID-19. We included 428 participants with a mean age of 64 years, 57% males, and a median Simplified Acute Physiology Score-3 score of 59. Overall, 14% were frail at baseline. We found that 124/394 participants (31%) were frail at day 90, 70% of whom were previously non-frail. The number of disabilities also increased (mean difference, 2.46; 95% CI, 2.06-2.86), mainly in participants who were non-frail before COVID-19. Higher pre-COVID-19 CFS scores were independently associated with new-onset disabilities. At day 90, 135 patients (34%) were either frail or disabled. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty and disability were more frequent 90 days after hospital discharge compared with baseline in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. Our results show that most COVID-19 critical care survivors transition to poorer health status, highlighting the importance of long-term medical follow-up for this population.

Protective ventilation and outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 5% of COVID-19 patients develop respiratory failure and need ventilatory support, yet little is known about the impact of mechanical ventilation strategy in COVID-19. Our objective was to describe baseline characteristics, ventilatory parameters, and outcomes of critically ill patients in the largest referral center for COVID-19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the first surge of the pandemic. METHODS: This cohort included COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) of an academic hospital with 94 ICU beds, a number expanded to 300 during the pandemic as part of a state preparedness plan. Data included demographics, advanced life support therapies, and ventilator parameters. The main outcome was 28-day survival. We used a multivariate Cox model to test the association between protective ventilation and survival, adjusting for PF ratio, pH, compliance, and PEEP. RESULTS: We included 1503 patients from March 30 to June 30, 2020. The mean age was 60 ± 15 years, and 59% were male. During 28-day follow-up, 1180 (79%) patients needed invasive ventilation and 666 (44%) died. For the 984 patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation in the first 24 h of ICU stay, mean tidal volume was 6.5 ± 1.3 mL/kg of ideal body weight, plateau pressure was 24 ± 5 cmH2O, respiratory system compliance was 31.9 (24.4-40.9) mL/cmH2O, and 82% of patients were ventilated with protective ventilation. Noninvasive ventilation was used in 21% of patients, and prone, in 36%. Compliance was associated with survival and did not show a bimodal pattern that would support the presence of two phenotypes. In the multivariable model, protective ventilation (aHR 0.73 [95%CI 0.57-0.94]), adjusted for PF ratio, compliance, PEEP, and arterial pH, was independently associated with survival. CONCLUSIONS: During the peak of the epidemic in Sao Paulo, critically ill patients with COVID-19 often required mechanical ventilation and mortality was high. Our findings revealed an association between mechanical ventilation strategy and mortality, highlighting the importance of protective ventilation for patients with COVID-19.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU in a university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil - study protocol

OBJECTIVES: We designed a cohort study to describe characteristics and outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in the largest public hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as Latin America becomes the epicenter of the pandemic. METHODS: This is the protocol for a study being conducted at an academic hospital in Brazil with 300 adult ICU beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients. We will include adult patients admitted to the ICU with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 during the study period. The main outcome is ICU survival at 28 days. Data will be collected prospectively and retrospectively by trained investigators from the hospital's electronic medical records, using an electronic data capture tool. We will collect data on demographics, comorbidities, severity of disease, and laboratorial test results at admission. Information on the need for advanced life support and ventilator parameters will be collected during ICU stay. Patients will be followed up for 28 days in the ICU and 60 days in the hospital. We will plot Kaplan-Meier curves to estimate ICU and hospital survival and perform survival analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model to identify the main risk factors for mortality. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04378582. RESULTS: We expect to include a large sample of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU and to be able to provide data on admission characteristics, use of advanced life support, ICU survival at 28 days, and hospital survival at 60 days. CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide epidemiological data about critically ill patients with COVID-19 in Brazil, which could inform health policy and resource allocation in low- and middle-income countries.