Longing for homelikeness: A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of patients' lived experiences in recovery from COVID-19-associated intensive care unit acquired weakness.
Roel van Oorsouw, Emily Klooster, Niek Koenders and 3 others
PMID 35765746WHAT IT FOUND
Patients recovering from COVID-19 ICU-acquired weakness described waking into an unfamiliar body, craving human contact, and finding progress through small, supported steps.
Setbacks and fatigue remained common after coming home.
Key findings
01Patients described waking unable to move or speak and unable to ask questions because a tube was in their throat.
02Human contact mattered: staff presence brought feelings of safety, and family visits were described as strengthening when allowed.
03Progress often involved frightening first steps, and too much mobilization or therapy could cause setbacks lasting a day or days.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 13 patients were studied, all from the Netherlands during the first surge, so themes may not fit other settings or patients with different severity. Patients who could not speak Dutch, lacked video equipment, or were receiving professional treatment for psychological symptoms were excluded, so those groups may be missing. Interviews were done by video call 4 to 8 months after discharge, and pandemic rules prevented participant observation, so recall and non-verbal cues may have been limited. Delirium is common in ICU patients and may have affected memory or the interpretation of some reported experiences. Two analysing authors were physical therapists who cared for this patient group, although they wrote a reflection report to bracket their own experiences.
Declared interests
No specific funding was received, and authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that early mobilization, family contact, or passive positioning improves recovery. The study describes 13 patients' experiences after ICU-acquired weakness and cannot show treatment effects.