Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Prevalence Six Months after Critical Covid-19: Comparison between First and Second Waves.
Amandine Rapin, François Constant Boyer, Bruno Mourvillier and 6 others
PMID 36193697WHAT IT FOUND
Six months after ICU for severe COVID-19, post-intensive care syndrome affected 51.5% in the first wave and 52% in the second wave, with no wave difference.
Women and people with diabetes were more likely to have it, and those affected reported worse symptoms.
Key findings
01At 6 months, post-intensive care syndrome affected 51.5% in the first wave and 52% in the second wave, with no significant difference between waves.
02After accounting for other factors, female sex and diabetes were significantly associated with post-intensive care syndrome.
03Patients with post-intensive care syndrome had worse patient-reported symptoms and were less likely to return to usual leisure activities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
It was a single-centre follow-up analysis with a small sample, so the estimates may be unstable. There was no control group, so symptoms cannot be clearly separated from long-COVID or other post-ICU effects. The 6-min walk test instructions changed between waves, so walk distance differences cannot be trusted. Rehabilitation after ICU was much more common in the first wave than in the second wave, which could affect outcomes. The follow-up description says 61 patients, while the first-wave table lists 34 patients. Prior functional status was not recorded, and viral variants were not identified.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that better ICU care had no effect on post-intensive care syndrome. This was an observational comparison, not a trial, and rehabilitation access differed between waves.