Functional Recovery Groups in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients and Their Associated Factors: From ICU to Hospital Discharge.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze functional recovery groups of critically ill COVID-19 survivors during their hospital stay and to identify the associated factors.

DESIGN: Prospective observational multicenter study.

SETTING: Demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables were collected, and physical and functional status were evaluated. The Barthel index was evaluated at three time points: 15 days before hospitalization, at ICU discharge, and at hospital discharge from the ward.

PATIENTS: Patients with functional independence before COVID-19 diagnosis were recruited from four hospitals and followed up until hospital discharge.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Three groups of functional recovery were described for 328 patients: functional independence ( n = 144; 44%), which included patients who preserved their functional status during hospitalization; recovered functionality ( n = 109; 33.2%), which included patients who showed dependence at ICU discharge but recovered their independence by hospital discharge; and functional dependency ( n = 75; 22.8%), which included patients who were dependent at ICU discharge and had not recovered their functional status at hospital discharge. The factors associated with becoming functionally dependent at ICU discharge were time to out-of-bed patient mobilization (odds ratio [OR], 1.20; 95% CI, 1.11-1.29), age (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04), hyperglycemia (OR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.56-4.07), and Simplified Acute Physiology Score (OR, 1.022; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04). Recovery to baseline independence during ward stays was associated with ICU length of stay (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99) and muscle strength (Medical Research Council test) at ICU discharge (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08-1.18).

CONCLUSIONS: Age, hyperglycemia, and time for patient mobilization out of bed were independent factors associated with becoming physically dependent after their ICU stay. Recovery of physical function at hospital discharge was associated with muscle strength at ICU discharge and length of ICU stay.