POST-DISCHARGE FOLLOW-UP WITH QUALITY OF LIFE ASSESSMENT IN COVID 19 PATIENTS ADMITTED DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

INTRO: Patients affected with COVID-19 have been reported to have persistent symptoms even months after the acute episode, most commonly fatigue, breathlessness, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. These residual symptoms have been shown to compromise the quality of life and lead to significant impairment in both the mental and physical health of these patients. METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study was carried out and patients were followed for a month after discharge. Residual symptoms were noted, quality of life (QoL) assessment was done using EQ-5D-5L, and anxiety/depression was evaluated using WHO-SRQ 20 scores. Appropriate statistical tests were applied to compare improvement in QoL and residual symptoms between first and the last visit. FINDINGS: A total of 110 patients were included. Mean age of the patients was 53.7 (SD+/- 13) years. Most common symptoms at 1st follow up were shortness of breath (66%) and fatigue (65%) which reduced in frequency on the last visit to (43%) and (46%) respectively. Significant improvement was seen in SpO2 levels recorded at both visits (p=0.000). An overall improvement in QoL was seen (p=0.000). WHO-SRQ 20 score above 8 was noted in 20% patients and mean score was 5.91. On further categorization into mild, moderate, severe and critical disease on admission, patients showed improvement in symptoms at four weeks irrespective of categories. For QoL assessment, mean utility score showed improvement in all disease categories on the 2nd visit except for patients with mild disease on admission. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a significant improvement in residual symptoms and overall quality of life when followed over a period of time in majority of the patients. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were also not frequent. However, our findings emphasize the need of a multidisciplinary approach towards rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients for earlier improvement in their quality of life.