Prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among COVID-19 survivors 1 year after Intensive Care discharge.

BACKGROUND

Survivors of Intensive Care are known to be at increased risk of developing longer-term psychopathology issues.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression among COVID-19 survivors 1 year after discharge from an Italian Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study between April and August 2021 among 86 adults COVID-19 survivors in Lecco (Italy). The PTSD was measured using the PTSD-checklist (PCL), HADS scale was used to measure anxiety and depression. Chi-square test or Fisher exact two-tailed tests were used to test for associations and the multiple logistic regressions model to determine factors that were independently associated with the outcome variables.

RESULTS

The mean PTSD, anxiety and depression scores were (38.6   6.3), (5.1   3.8), (6.9   3.7) respectively. Based on cut-off scores, the prevalence of PTSD (PCL ≥ 45), anxiety (HADs score ≥ 8) and depression (HADs score ≥ 8) were (n = 20, 23.2%) (n = 22, 25.6%) and (n = 38, 44.2%) respectively. COVID-19 survivors who experienced a decreased level of exercise post-ICU discharge were more likely to show symptoms of depression (AOR = 2.57; 95%CI: 1.31-6.85, p = 0.027) and anxiety (AOR = 3.19; 95%CI: 1.29-8.32, p = 0.021) compared to those whose exercise remained the same post-ICU discharge. In addition Older COVID survivors were more likely to show symptoms of depression (AOR = 8.2, 95% CI: 1.97-24.45, p = 0.001) and anxiety (AOR = 3.26; 95%CI: 1.12-8.1, p = 0.022) compared to younger ones.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that PTSD, anxiety and depression are common among the COVID-19 survivors in Lecco.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Nurses play a key role in the public health response to such crises, delivering direct patient care and reducing the risk of exposure to the infectious disease.