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Patients with COVID-19 are staying longer than the average three to four days in the intensive care unit (ICU), says Megan Hosey, a rehabilitation psychologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s medical ICU. This puts them at greater risk for developing post-intensive care syndrome (PICS).

While more patients than ever are surviving after treatment in the ICU, research over the last two decades shows that survival can come with the cluster of physical, psychological and cognitive symptoms associated with PICS — hindering patients’ quality of life for weeks or years to come. Although the exact prevalence of PICS is unknown, “it happens in more patients than we probably realize,” says Hosey, and it is occurring in some patients with COVID-19.

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Around a quarter of patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) will develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the dramatic increase in ICU admissions during theCOVID-19 pandemic, clinicians are likely to see a rise in post-ICU PTSD cases in the coming months.Post-ICU PTSD can present various challenges to clinicians, and no clinical guidelines have beenpublished for delivering trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy with this population. In this article, we describe how to use cognitive therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD), a first line treatment for PTSD recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Using clinical case examples, we outline the key techniques involved in CT-PTSD, and describe their application to treating patients with PTSD following ICU.

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Rehabilitation has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an essential health strategy, alongside promotion, prevention, treatment, and palliative care. For the WHO, rehabilitation is a core component of universal health coverage and a central target of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Rehabilitation focuses on the overall functioning of the whole person, including comorbidities. Consequently, rehabilitation of individuals who have experienced COVID-19 must consider not only the consequences of the disease but also the effects of treatments applied during the acute phase. For the WHO, functioning (the target of rehabilitation) is a key indicator of health, alongside mortality and morbidity, capturing the impact of diseases and injuries on body functions, human activities and participation. Rehabilitation inherently serves to reduce disability, with broad health, social, and economic impacts.

This Special Collection is the result of collaboration within Cochrane Rehabilitation, with rigorous involvement from stakeholders: the Steering Committee of the REH-COVER (Rehabilitation COVID-19 Evidence-based Response) action and the Cochrane Rehabilitation Advisory Board. The agreed list of relevant conditions is the product of a structured prioritization process for identifying the list of conditions, and subsequently review inclusion, except post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which Cochrane Mental Health and Neuroscience was consulted.

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Coronavirus patients who require treatment in an intensive care unit could suffer from post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), experts say.
In general, patients who require intensive care are at risk for mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression when their treatment is over, according to Weill Cornell Medicine at Cornell University. They also can suffer cognitive impairment and physical limitations.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): Various news reports in recent weeks have pointed out that for some Covid-19 patients who needed intensive care, the journey to recovery is a long one. After leaving the ICU, they may suffer from what is known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can happen to any person who has been in the ICU.

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Coronavirus patients who require treatment in an intensive care unit could suffer from post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), experts say.

In general, patients who require intensive care are at risk for mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression when their treatment is over, according to Weill Cornell Medicine at Cornell University. They also can suffer cognitive impairment and physical limitations.

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Experts say hospital ICU stays, often faced alone, bring mental health woes to older patients in particular

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Although we are currently overwhelmed by the astonishing speed of infection of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the daily onslaught of new, and ever-worsening predictions, it is vital that we begin to prepare for the aftershocks of the pandemic. Prominent among this will be the cohort of post-intensive case survivors who have been mechanically ventilated and will like experience short- and medium-term consequences. The notion that patients surviving intensive care and mechanical ventilation for several weeks can be discharged home without further medical attention is a dangerous illusion. Post Intensive Care Syndrome and other severe conditions will require not only adequate screening but early rehabilitation and other interventions. Action must be taken now to prepare for this inevitable aftershock to the healthcare system.

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While the long-term impacts of the novel coronavirus are largely unknown,
the effects of extended ICU stays and intubation on severely ill patients are
alarmingly clear. In the midst of a pandemic that has affected over 2.7
million people in the United States alone, some medical professionals are
now concerned that the health-care system will continue to be overwhelmed
by patients who are dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus.

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The long-term effects of surviving COVID-19 have become a new focus of attention for clinicians and researchers. This focus has been driven partly by concerns about late ill-effects of a previously unknown virus, but recognised generic patterns of chronic disease after critical illness also exist. These patterns are termed PICS, an acronym both for post-intensive care syndrome and for persistent inflammation, immunosuppression, and catabolism syndrome. We recommend unifying post-COVID-19 research aims with those of PICS research and propose a novel approach to its management by repurposing drugs that are approved, inexpensive, and safe.

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The emergence of coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) has presented a global health threat. The number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in Africa; this poses a challenge to the African healthcare system, particularly the intensive care unit(ICU). More so, individuals with severe COVID-19 would often have a prolonged intensive care stay, requiring mechanical ventilation and sedation and this may increase their risk of developing physical, cognitive and psychosocial impairments. These post-ICU sequelae of morbidities have been termed Post Intensive Care Syndrome. The African healthcare system needs to be prepared to manage the adverse effects of Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) largely characterized by a decline in functional capacity and health-related quality of life. It is thus expedient that multi-targeted measures such as early rehabilitation, adequate screening, patient/caregiver education and post-discharge rehabilitation be adopted to combat imminent poor health out comes in COVID-19 survivors. In this editorial, we provided a brief review of PICS and highlighted strategies for preventing and managing PICS in the critically ill within the African context Key words: Pandemic, COVID-19 Survivors, African healthcare,Intensive Care Unit, Rehabilitation

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As a result of the current global health crisis, many more people than usual are having serious medical experiences. These include admissions to hospital with breathing difficulties, or transfers to critical care (intensive care) units. A significant proportion of these people will go on to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).