A prospective observational cohort study investigated the prevalence of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) among non-COVID-19 ICU survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adults who had been admitted to the ICU for more than 24 h were enrolled, and followed-up at 3, 6, and 12 months post-discharge. PICS (mental health, cognitive, and physical domains) was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Posttraumatic Diagnosis Scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Korean Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Data were analyzed from 237 participants who completed all three follow-up surveys. The prevalence of PICS was 44.7%, 38.4%, and 47.3%, at 3, 6, and 12 months of discharge, respectively. The prevalence of PICS in the mental health and cognitive domains decreased at 6 and increased at 12 months. The prevalence of PICS in the physical domain declined over time. Changes in PICS scores other than ADL differed significantly according to whether participants completed follow-up before or after December 2020, when COVID-19 rapidly spread in South Korea. In the recent group, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cognition scores were significantly worse at 12 months than at 6 months post-discharge. The COVID-19 pandemic may have adversely affected the recovery of non-COVID-19 ICU survivors.
Keywords: COVID-19; South Korea; post-intensive care syndrome; prospective cohort study.