Recovery of functional fitness, lung function, and immune function in healthcare workers with nonsevere and severe COVID-19 at 13 months after discharge from the hospital: a prospective cohort study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

This study aimed to evaluate the recovery of functional fitness, lung function, and immune function in healthcare workers (HCWs) with nonsevere and severe COVID-19 at 13 months after discharge from the hospital.

METHODS:

The participants of "Rehabilitation Care Project for Medical Staff Infected with COVID-19" underwent a functional fitness test (muscle strength, flexibility, and agility/dynamic balance), lung function test, and immune function test (including cytokines and lymphocyte subsets) at 13 months after discharge.

RESULTS:

The project included 779 HCWs (316 nonsevere COVID-19 and 463 severe COVID-19). This study found that 29.1% (130/446) of the HCWs have not yet recovered their functional fitness. The most affected lung function indicator was lung perfusion capacity (34% with diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide-single breath <80%). The increase of interleukin-6 (64/534, 12.0%) and natural killer cells (44/534, 8.2%) and the decrease of CD3+ T cells (58/534, 10.9%) and CD4+ T cells (26/534, 4.9%) still existed at 13 months after discharge. No significant difference was found in the HCWs with nonsevere and severe COVID-19 regarding recovery of functional fitness, lung function, and immune function at 13 months after discharge.

CONCLUSION:

The majority of Chinese HCWs with COVID-19 had recovered their functional fitness, lung function, and immune function, and the recovery status in HCWs with severe COVID-19 is no worse than that in HCWs with nonsevere COVID-19 at 13 months after discharge from the hospital.

• Authors: Lijuan Xiong, Qian Li, Xiongjing Cao, Huangguo Xiong, Ming Huang, Fengwen Yang, Daquan Meng, Mei Zhou, Yanzhao Zhang, Yunzhou Fan, Liang Tang, Yang Jin, Jiahong Xia, Yu Hu
• Journal: International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (Int J Infect Dis) Vol. 123 Pg. 119-126 (Oct 2022) ISSN: 1878-3511 [Electronic] Canada
• PMID: 35793753 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Chemical References

• Interleukin-6
• Carbon Monoxide

Topics

• COVID-19
• Carbon Monoxide
• Health Personnel
• Hospitals
• Humans
• Immunity
• Interleukin-6
• Lung
• Patient Discharge
• Prospective Studies
• SARS-CoV-2