Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Survivors Requiring Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Comparison of Two Waves.

Objective: Many survivors of severe or critical COVID-19 have required rehabilitation during the pandemic. The primary objective was to compare characteristics and outcomes of survivors of severe or critical COVID-19 admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation facility during the first two waves of the pandemic. Our secondary objective was to identify the factors contributing to functional dependence on admission, discharge, and length of stay.

Design: This is a retrospective cohort study of 138 patients admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility in two waves after hospitalization for severe or critical COVID-19 illness between April 1, 2020, and May 3, 2021.

Results: Inpatient rehabilitation facility patients in wave 2 had significantly greater functional independence (GG scores) on admission (52; interquartile range, 44-58 vs 41; interquartile range, 28-52), lower incidence of dysphagia and anemia. The patients in both waves experienced similar functional improvement efficiencies with a median GG score change of 3.6 per day and similar discharge GG scores. Neurological sequela (odds ratio, 0.12; P < 0.001) and anemia (odds ratio, 1.35; P < 0.002) were identified as independent predictors of functional independence on admission.

Conclusions: Patients with functional deficits after COVID-19 should be considered for acute inpatient rehabilitation as both patient cohorts benefited from their inpatient rehabilitation facility stays with similar length of stays (11-12 days) and discharge to home rates (88%-90%).