• Theodore J Iwashyna, Lee A Kamphuis, Stephanie J Gundel, Aluko A Hope, Sarah Jolley, Andrew J Admon, Ellen Caldwell, Max L Monahan, Katherine Hauschildt, B Taylor Thompson, Catherine L Hough, and NHLBI Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Network.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• J Hosp Med. 2021 Aug 18.

BackgroundPatients discharged after COVID-19 report ongoing needs.ObjectivesTo measure incident symptoms after COVID-19 hospitalization.Design, Setting, And ParticipantsPreplanned early look at 1-month follow-up surveys from patients hospitalized August 2020 to January 2021 in NHLBI PETAL Network's Biology and Longitudinal Epidemiology: COVID-19 Observational (BLUE CORAL) study. English- or Spanish-speaking hospitalized adults without substantial pre-COVID-19 disability with a positive molecular test for SARS-CoV-2.ResultsOverall, 253 patients were hospitalized for a median of 5 days (interquartile range [IQR], 3-8), and had a median age of 60 years (IQR, 45-68). By race/ethnicity, 136 (53.8%) were non-Hispanic White, 23 (9.1%) were non-Hispanic Black, and 83 (32.8%) were Hispanic. Most (139 [54.9%]) reported a new or worsened cardiopulmonary symptom, and 16% (n = 39) reported new or increased oxygen use; 213 (84.2%) patients reported not feeling fully back to their pre-COVID-19 level of functioning. New limitations in activities of daily living were present in 130 (52.8%) patients. Financial toxicities, including job loss or change (49 [19.8%]), having a loved one take time off (93 [37.8%]), and using up one's savings (58 [23.2%]), were common. Longer lengths of hospital stay were associated with greater odds of 1-month cardiopulmonary symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.82 per additional week in the hospital; 95% CI, 1.11-2.98) and new disability (aOR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.21-3.53). There were not uniform demographic patterns of association.LimitationsWe prioritized patients' reports of their own incident problems over objective testing.ConclusionPatients who survived COVID-19 in the United States during late 2020/early 2021 still faced new burdens 1 month after hospital discharge.

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