One‐year cognitive follow‐up of COVID‐19 hospitalized patients
Roberta Ferrucci, Michelangelo Dini, Chiara Rosci, Antonella Capozza, Elisabetta Groppo, Maria Rita Reitano, Elisa Allocco, Barbara Poletti, Agostino Brugnera, Francesca Bai, Alessia Monti, Nicola Ticozzi, Vincenzo Silani, Stefano Centanni, Antonella d’Arminio Monforte, Luca Tagliabue, Alberto Priori
Abstract
Abstract 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 PaO 2 /FiO 2 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.