Short-term functional changes after hospital discharge by COVID-19 through teleconsultation at a reference service in Northeast Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

Barros-Leite, Bárbara R A F; Lima, Marcela Raquel de Oliveira; Caminha, Marina; Santos, Kaliandra; Cunha, Cristiano Berardo Carneiro da; Andrade, Lívia Barboza de

INTRODUCTION Coronavirus Infection Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was associated with a physical-functional and emotional decline in patients with COVID-19 hospital internment. OBJECTIVE evaluate the main functional changes after hospital discharge after COVID-19 by teleconsultation. METHODS a cross-sectional study carried out between April and July 2020, the peak period of new cases, hospital admission, and deaths by COVID-19, in Recife-Brazil. Were included patients (n=89) over 18 years with positive COVID-19 RT-PCR tests and hospitalized for more than seven days. Functional aspects such as muscle pain, shortness of breath, cough, weight loss > 5 kg, weakness/fatigue, daily living activities, balance, walking, lying down, sensitivity, anxiety/sadness, altered memory, or understanding were assessed. Besides, the impact of hospital admission on daily activities and the quality of information obtained by teleconsultation were quantified. RESULTS the mean age was 63.5 years (±14), and in the hospital, the mean internment was 18 days (±16). The main findings of this study showed four predominant functional alterations: weight loss greater than 5 kg (60.7%), muscle fatigue/weakness (53.9%), muscle/joint pain (43.8%), and anxiety/sadness (46,1%). Of the functional analyzed, 59.6% of patients reported dysfunctions in at least three of the alterations evaluated. CONCLUSION there were several short-term physical-functional and emotional changes in adults after hospital discharge. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.