The following is a summary of “One-year outcomes in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 intensive care unit survivors,” published in the December 2024 issue of Critical Care by Heesakkers et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to compare one-year multi-domain health outcomes in survivors of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.  

They evaluated adult ICU survivors treated for COVID-19 against a control group of survivors from non-COVID-19 ARDS or pneumonia. The study measured physical (frailty, fatigue, symptoms), mental (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress), and cognitive symptoms, as well as quality of life (QoL) scores using validated questionnaires before ICU admission and one-year post-treatment.  

The results showed that 506 COVID-19 ICU survivors were assessed alongside 228 non-COVID-19 ICU survivors. At one-year follow-up, fewer COVID-19 survivors reported physical (76.2% vs. 86.9%, p = 0.001) and mental symptoms (32.0% vs. 47.1%, p < 0.001) compared to the control group. Cognitive symptoms were similar (22.5% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.12). COVID-19 survivors experienced an increase in symptoms across all domains and a decline in quality of life (QoL), while the control group showed a rise in mental and cognitive symptoms but had no change in QoL.  

Investigators concluded that COVID-19 ICU survivors, despite experiencing similar or fewer health problems, reported a greater decline in quality of life one year after ICU admission compared to survivors of non-COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome or pneumonia. 

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883944124003459