BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Cognitive dysfunction has been observed following recovery from COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, however, no study has assessed the progression of cognitive impairment after 1 year. The aim was to assess cognitive functioning at 1 year from hospital discharge, and eventual associations with specific clinical variables. METHODS:Seventy-six patients (aged 22-74 years) who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 were recruited. Patients received neuropsychological assessments at 5 (n = 76) and 12 months (n = 53) from hospital discharge. RESULTS:Over half (63.2%) of the patients had deficits in at least one test at 5 months. Compared to the assessment at 5 months, verbal memory, attention and processing speed improved significantly after 1 year (all p < 0.05), whereas visuospatial memory did not (all p > 0.500). The most affected domains after 1 year were processing speed (28.3%) and long-term visuospatial (18.1%) and verbal (15.1%) memory. Lower PaO2 /FiO2 ratios in the acute phase were associated with worse verbal long-term memory (p = 0.029) and visuospatial learning (p = 0.041) at 5 months. Worse visuospatial long-term memory at 5 months was associated with hyposmia (p = 0.020) and dysgeusia (p = 0.037). CONCLUSION:Our study expands the results from previous studies showing that cognitive impairment can still be observed after 1 year. Patients with severe COVID-19 should receive periodic cognitive follow-up evaluations, as cognitive deficits in recovered patients could have social and occupational implications.

Cognitive deficits are a common complication of COVID-19. Multiple factors associated with the illness and its treatment may contribute to cognitive deficits. In this study, we analysed neuropsychological data from a cohort of patients recovering from COVID-19 hospitalization who required different types of oxygen/ventilation therapy. We recruited 77 (aged 22–77 years; 57 males) patients hospitalized for complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different COVID units, which had required different oxygen (O2) therapy (no-O2 = 9, low-flow O2 = 35, CPAP = 26, intubation = 7). Participants underwent neuropsychological testing with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-NT) about 5 months after hospital discharge. Of all participants, 64% showed deficits in at least one test of the BRB-NT; the most affected functions were processing speed (41.6% of participants) and delayed verbal recall (27.3%). Worse delayed visuospatial recall was associated with hyposmia (p = 0.011) and dysgeusia (p = 0.035). Cognitive deficits are frequent, persistent, and disabling even for five months following hospitalization for COVID-19. Therefore, neurological and neuropsychological monitoring should be put in place after discharge to help mitigate the effects of these symptoms, improving the quality of life of COVID-19 survivors.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s psychological well-being, and hospitalized patients could face an even greater risk of psychological distress. We aimed to study resilience in recovered COVID-19 patients after hospital discharge. We recruited 50 patients (38 males, aged 28–77) who were hospitalized for COVID-19 between March and April 2020. Participants underwent a psychological assessment 5 months after hospital discharge. We administered the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25), Beck’s Depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Y-form (STAI). We also evaluated the impact of persisting physical, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms on resilience. Patients reported low resilience in the months following hospital discharge (CD-RISC-25 score [mean ± SD] = 55.82 ± 20.76), compared to data from studies on the general population. Lower resilience was associated with mood disturbances in the months following clinical recovery (p = 0.005), persisting fatigue (p = 0.015), sleep changes (p = 0.046), and subjective cognitive complaints (p < 0.05). Recovered COVID-19 patients exhibit low resilience following hospital discharge, which affects psychological well-being. The presence of persisting symptoms following hospital discharge affects psychological resilience. Interventions tailored to increase resilience should be considered to improve quality of life for recovered COVID-19 patients.