Prospective cohort of elderly patients after hospitalization due to COVID‐19: preliminary results

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundPost Covid‐19 syndrome can cause cognitive impairment and may be associated with a higher risk of developing dementia in older people.MethodThis is a cohort study that is evaluating over 12 months the functional status and cognition of elderly people after hospital discharge. One group is composed of elderly people admitted to the hospital for Covid‐19 and the other group is composed of elderly people hospitalized for other clinical reasons. The groups are evaluated with The Mattis (DRS), AD8, ADCS‐ADL, PCL‐C, GDS‐15, FIM, COPM, CFS, FSS, mMRC and SARC‐calf. We will describe the preliminary results of the first 31 patients included in the COVID‐19 group on functional status, cognition, mood and quality of life.ResultThirty‐one patients with COVID‐19 were evaluated three months after hospital discharge. One was excluded due to previous mental disorder and another due to a request to be excluded from the study. We found a mean age of 69.55 ± 7.72 years, schooling 7.14 ± 4.48 years, 51.7% female, Charlson Comorbidity Index 2.21 ± 1.84, 48.3% with smoking history and 62.9% had incomplete vaccine protection for COVID‐19. Considering cognition, 13.9% of the sample had no impairment, 55.1% had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (17.2% amnestic MCI and 37.9% non‐amnesic MCI) and 31% had dementia. 24.1% declared their health status and quality of life as fair or poor. Mean CFS was 4.45 ± 1.18, GDS‐15 4.28 ± 3.38, FSS 30.76 ± 19.24, PCL‐c 29.34 ± 10.41, SARC‐calf 4.03 ± 4.61. All had mMRC dyspnea classified between 1 and 4.ConclusionThere was a high prevalence of mild cognitive impairment and dementia among patients after three months of discharge, with a predominance of mild frailty due to CFS and the presence of fatigue. It is noteworthy that a quarter of the sample reported low quality of life.