Experiences, Emotions, and Health Consequences among COVID-19 Survivors after Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization

Abstract

Literature suggested that COVID-19 patients experienced hospitalization as a physically and psychologically stressful event, with the risk to develop post-traumatic stress symptoms. The study aimed to understand psychological experiences of COVID-19 survivors with severe complications during and after ICU hospitalization, and any relevant health consequences. From October 2020 to January 2021, a qualitative study was conducted in Italy via semi-structured interviews by phone or video call addressed to COVID-19 survivors, randomly enrolled among people who released their stories publicly on newspapers, television, or social media. Fifteen individuals (three women and twelve men with average age of 56.4 years) were interviewed. Four main themes emerged: (i) emotion of fear; (ii) isolation and loneliness; (iii) unawareness about the gravity of the situation as a protective factor; (iv) “Long COVID” as consequences of the disease on physical and psychological health. During hospitalization, 66.7% of participants had mild or moderate values of anxiety and depression. After discharge, 86.7% moved to normal values. The results suggest that long-COVID is an important problem to manage to improve patients’ quality of life. It is essential to guarantee a holistic take in charge starting before the discharge and continuing care after discharge in the community where they live.

Anxiety among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Older adults have been disproportionally affected across the various waves ( Hadjistavropoulos & Asmundson, 2022 ) and have been subjected to multiple stressors. They have more chronic diseases and risk factors for complications related to COVID-19 (e.g., hypertension, diabetes; Piras et al, 2022 ) and it is more difficult for them to access to health services ( Lebrasseur et al, 2021 ). Based on patients’ age and their prognostic, triage policies have been developed in various countries (e.g., Italy, USA), to facilitate decision-making in case of lack of resources for critical cares (e.g., use of ventilators; see Antommaria et al 2020 ; White & Lo 2020 ).…”

Characterization of COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients in Three United States Electronic Health Record Databases

“…This study helps understand the clinical course of infection, characteristics of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and hospital-resource utilization associated with severe COVID-19 diseases over time, with implications for how physicians monitor admitted patients for increases in severity during hospital stay and inform resource planning and triage efforts (such as for ventilators and medications). Further, recognizing that past studies [ 21 , 22 ] have found associations with ICU admission and feelings of stress, anxiety, isolation, and depression, both during hospital stay and after discharge, findings offer an opportunity to improve communication with hospitalized patients to reduce both physical and psychological health burden associated with COVID-19 hospitalization. Future studies may further evaluate predictors of population characteristics for severe COVID-19 outcomes, including via analytical statistics comparing patients admitted for COVID-19 infection with the general patient population.…”

Patient Involvement in Shared Decision-Making: Do Patients Rate Physicians and Nurses Differently?

“…The same result is found regarding the perceived quality of care for which nurses’ attention to patient needs appears to be crucial. This can probably be explained by the fact that, during hospitalization, nurses have more opportunities than physicians to build a relationship with patients, and they feel free and safe to ask questions and express their needs [ 38 , 39 ]. A literature review [ 40 ] reports some factors that contribute to increasing trust relationships between nurses and patients.…”