The psychological well-being and health-related quality of life of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.

A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified in Wuhan China in December 2019. The virus spread quickly around the globe and was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11th 2020. This SARS-CoV2 pandemic has resulted in an exponential growth in diseased patients, causing a tremendous increase in both hospital and ICU admissions. In non-pandemic circumstances, illnesses requiring hospitalization already significantly impact patient’s post-discharge psychological well-being as observed in various cohort studies. Moreover, survivors of critical illness and especially those requiring intensive care unit (ICU) treatment are known to be at particular risk for psychological impairments, with a prevalence up to 68%. This post-hospitalization psychological burden further impairs their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the ability to return to work.
During the COVID-19 pandemic peak in the Netherlands between March and May 2020, extensive measures were taken to reduce the further spread of the virus and to safeguard optimal standard of medical care. In general citizens were advised to work from home, minimize social contacts, keep distance in public places, and to remain in self-quarantine when experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms. Within hospitals, patients with symptoms suggestive for COVID-19 were isolated upon hospitalization, visitation was restricted, contact with healthcare workers was limited to strictly necessary and included the use of personal protection measures. Due to its mayor effects on the whole society, socially as well as economically, the COVID-19 crisis was a constant factor on the news and on social media.
Collectively, the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic and altered in-hospital circumstances raised concern of increased psychological distress in the general population, but especially in hospitalized patients and those with COVID-19. We hypothesized that patients admitted to the hospital during this pandemic period with a suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection, have a high risk to develop long-term or persistent symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, that are associated with a decreased health related quality of life and a delayed work resumption. In addition, we hypothesize that psychological burden may vary between patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and those who were not, and that ICU patients would be more prone compared to non-ICU patients. In this study we examined the psychological burden, HRQoL and resumption of work in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 related symptoms, up to 12 months after discharge.

We hypothesized that patients admitted to the hospital during this pandemic period with a suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection, have a high risk to develop long-term or persistent symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, which are associated with a poor health-related quality of life and a delayed work resumption. In addition, we hypothesize that psychological burden may vary between patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and those who were not, and that ICU patients would be more prone compared to non-ICU patients.

T1: 1 months after hospital discharge
T2: 3 months after hospital discharge
T3: 12 months after hospital discharge