Avaliação cognitiva de pacientes após internação hospitalar por covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China and later spread to several countries. Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was believed that the consequences occurred at the acute and respiratory level, but over time, chronic and persistent manifestations were observed at macro systemic levels. Goal: Assess the cognitive ability of patients up to 12 months after a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. Methodology: This is a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. The study was carried out in the municipality of Passo Fundo - Rio Grande do Sul, from September 2022 to July 2023, and consists of an excerpt from a larger project entitled "Analysis of the post-COVID-19 health situation in the southern region of Brazil. The target population consisted of individuals who had a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 and who were admitted to hospitals. As collection instruments were used: sociodemographic health and behavioral questionnaires, and for cognitive assessment Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R). For data analysis, the results were tabulated in excel spreadsheets and PSPP program (free distribution). Result: Our study showed a higher percentage of female individuals 53.2%, aged 60 years or older (67.5%), 72.1% white-skinned individuals, 59.7% married or in a stable relationship , 48.1% with primary education and retirees (62.3%). Regarding health conditions, 80.5% of individuals had COVID-19 once, and 75.3% reported that their perception of health worsened compared to before the disease. During the hospitalization period, the most reported symptoms were: general malaise (83.8%), difficulty breathing (83.1%), cough (70.8%), the most reported persistent symptoms were: shortness of breath ( 57.8%), recent memory loss (57.1%) . Regarding cognitive changes, the biggest changes occurred in relation to language (47.4%) and verbal fluency (47.4%). When verifying the frequency distribution of sociodemographic, health, clinical, and post- COVID-19 sequelae variables in relation to the presence of cognitive impairment as indicated by the total value of the ACE-R test, a statistically significant difference was observed. higher frequency of cognitive alteration among individuals with primary education/never studied (70.4%, p<0.001), in the elderly (55.8% p <0.001), who do not perform paid work (57.9% p<0.001 ), who had COVID- 19 only once (53.2% p <0.009) and who already had a diagnosis of systemic arterial hypertension before COVID-19 (57.6% p<0.004. Conclusion: It is concluded that the perception of the general state of health of the individuals worsened after the infection. The persistent symptoms presented extended for long periods after the infection, compromising the individuals' daily activities. Cognitive impairment was present after hospital discharge in patients affected by COVID-19.