Browsing by Author "Ylipiha, Eveliina"

Objective: Impairments in executive functions among patients with COVID-19 have been reported during and after the acute phase of the disease. COVID-19 is associated with delirium which is a common complication after intensive care and a risk factor for executive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to examine the executive functioning of COVID-19 patients six months after the acute phase of the disease. In addition, the patients who received intensive care for COVID-19 were examined separately to determine whether those who had experienced delirium differed from the other COVID-19 patients who had received intensive care. Methods: The study is part of the RECOVID-20 project which aims to study recovery of COVID-19 patients. This study included 139 COVID-19 patients and 48 healthy controls who took part in neuropsychological assessments. COVID-19 patients were divided into three groups according to the required level of care in the acute phase: 53 of COVID-19 patients were treated at the ICU, 43 patients on regular wards and 43 at home. The patients at ICU were divided further into two groups based on whether they had developed delirium during the treatment or not. Group differences in executive functions were assessed by using multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) and negative binomial regression. Results and Conclusions: No significant differences were found in the executive functions between the three groups or the healthy controls. Although no significant differences were found between patients with and without delirium, there was a trend of significant difference of lower processing speed with patients who had developed delirium during the treatment. The results are contradictory to the previous studies where impairments in executive functions were reported, albeit assessments were usually made only a few months after the acute phase of the disease. More longitudinal studies are needed to assess executive functions during the recovery of COVID-19.