Nearly half of COVID-19 patients discharged from Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine last spring experienced functional decline, research shows.
For the study, published April 30 in the journal PM&R, researchers analyzed the outcomes of 288 adult COVID-19 patients hospitalized between March 4, 2020, and May 1, 2020.
Four study findings:
1. Forty-five percent of COVID-19 survivors experienced functional decline, and nearly 20 percent were discharged to a location other than their home.
2. About 81 percent of survivors with functional decline were referred for additional therapy after their discharge.
3. Nearly 20 percent of survivors' functional decline was so significant, they could no longer live independently after leaving the hospital.
4. About 40 percent of patients never underwent a rehabilitation evaluation during their hospital stay, which means the number of patients with functional decline is likely an undercount, study authors said.
"The major shifts in functioning that we highlight are important, but less dramatic declines in physical and cognitive functioning are likely to be found in nearly all previously hospitalized COVID patients," senior author Anna Kratz, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Michigan Medicine, said in a news release. "Even subtle changes in functioning can derail a person's life trajectory. Future work needs to focus on improving our ability to identify and treat people across the full range of the functional decline spectrum."