Impairment in Physical Function and Mental Status in a Survivor of Severe COVID-19 at Discharge from an Acute Care a Hospital: A Case Report.

Background: Early mobilization and rehabilitation interventions should be provided to patients who survived severe COVID-19 to improve their physical function and activities of daily living (ADL). However, their physical and mental status at discharge has not been well described in Japan. We report the intervention provided for a survivor of severe COVID-19 and his physical and mental status at discharge from an acute care hospital.

Case Report: A 62-year-old man was admitted to our emergency department with a diagnosis of COVID-19 with severe acute respiratory dysfunction. He had complicated intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) and delirium during mechanical ventilation therapy. Rehabilitation intervention was initiated on the seventh day post-admission and was gradually performed according to his respiratory and hemodynamic status. As a result of the rehabilitation intervention, ICU-AW and cognitive function gradually improved. On hospital day 37, he independently performed basic ADL and was discharged. However, he lost approximately 9% of his body weight at discharge. In addition, his hand grip strength and six-minute walking distance were lower and shorter than the reference values, respectively. His mental component summary of the Short Form-8™ was lower than the national standard deviation for the Japanese population.

Conclusion: Although survivors of severe COVID-19 who undergo early rehabilitation can be discharged from an acute care hospital, they may have several impairments in their physical and mental status, including muscle function, diffusion capacity, exercise tolerance, and health-related quality of life.