Geriatric Unit, Department of Palliative Medicine, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Department of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Med Sci Monit. 2023 Aug 16;29:e941197. doi: 10.12659/MSM.941197.
BACKGROUND Long-term care facilities were severely impacted during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) pandemic. Residents surviving the disease might continue to suffer from the post-COVID syndrome, similar to community-dwelling persons. This study aimed to characterize the longitudinal evolution of activities of daily living in COVID-19 survivors from long-term institutional care. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a retrospective study with prospective follow-up of consecutive COVID-19 survivors living in long-term care facilities. The Barthel Index was used to assess changes in functional independence before the disease, right after recovery, and 3 months later. RESULTS The study enrolled 201 residents of long-term care facilities, median age 79 years old, who survived 3 months after recovery from COVID-19. The disease caused hospitalization in 47% of cases. Early after COVID-19, deterioration in activities of daily living was higher in older, hospitalized patients with cardiovascular comorbidity. However, in the long-term follow-up, these factors did not predict functioning. Independence was severely affected in hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This had implications for post-COVID care and rehabilitation since these interventions were mainly offered after hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS The findings support that residents of long-term care facilities who had COVID-19, even with a mild clinical course, may have persistent impairment in function and ability to perform activities of daily living that require support and rehabilitation.
长期护理机构在 COVID-19（2019 年冠状病毒病）大流行期间受到严重影响。幸存该病的居民可能会继续遭受 COVID 后综合征，类似于居住在社区的人。本研究旨在描述长期机构护理中 COVID-19 幸存者日常生活活动的纵向演变。
这是一项回顾性研究，对居住在长期护理机构中的连续 COVID-19 幸存者进行前瞻性随访。采用巴氏指数评估疾病前、康复后和 3 个月后的功能独立性变化。
研究纳入了 201 名长期护理机构居民，中位年龄 79 岁，在 COVID-19 康复后 3 个月存活。47%的病例需要住院治疗。在 COVID-19 早期，患有心血管合并症的老年住院患者日常生活活动能力下降更为明显。然而，在长期随访中，这些因素并不能预测功能。住院和非住院 COVID-19 患者的独立性均受到严重影响。由于这些干预措施主要在住院后提供，这对 COVID 后护理和康复产生了影响。
研究结果表明，即使 COVID-19 患者的临床病程较轻，长期护理机构的居民也可能存在持续的功能障碍和日常生活活动能力受损，需要支持和康复。
