Short-term outpatient follow-up of COVID-19 patients: A multidisciplinary approach.

BACKGROUND: Short-term follow-up of COVID-19 patients reveals pulmonary dysfunction, myocardial damage and severe psychological distress. Little is known of the burden of these sequelae, and there are no clear recommendations for follow-up of COVID-19 patients.In this multi-disciplinary evaluation, cardiopulmonary function and psychological impairment after hospitalization for COVID-19 are mapped. METHODS: We evaluated patients at our outpatient clinic 6 weeks after discharge. Cardiopulmonary function was measured by echocardiography, 24-hours ECG monitoring and pulmonary function testing. Psychological adjustment was measured using questionnaires and semi-structured clinical interviews. A comparison was made between patients admitted to the general ward and Intensive care unit (ICU), and between patients with a high versus low functional status. FINDINGS: Eighty-one patients were included of whom 34 (41%) had been admitted to the ICU. New York Heart Association class II-III was present in 62% of the patients. Left ventricular function was normal in 78% of patients. ICU patients had a lower diffusion capacity (mean difference 12,5% P = 0.01), lower forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity (mean difference 14.9%; P<0.001; 15.4%; P<0.001; respectively). Risk of depression, anxiety and PTSD were 17%, 5% and 10% respectively and similar for both ICU and non-ICU patients. INTERPRETATION: Overall, most patients suffered from functional limitations. Dyspnea on exertion was most frequently reported, possibly related to decreased DLCOc. This could be caused by pulmonary fibrosis, which should be investigated in long-term follow-up. In addition, mechanical ventilation, deconditioning, or pulmonary embolism may play an important role.

Predictive value of ischemic lesion volume assessed with magnetic resonance imaging for neurological deficits and functional outcome poststroke: A critical review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic lesion volume is assumed to be an important predictor of poststroke neurological deficits and functional outcome. This critical review examines the methodological quality of MRI studies and the predictive value of hemispheric infarct volume for neurological deficits (at body function level) and functional outcome (at activities level). METHODS: Using Medline, PiCarta, and Embase to identify studies, 13 of the 747 identified studies met the authors' inclusion criteria. Subsequently, studies were tested for adherence to the key methodological criteria for internal, statistical, and external validity. Each criterion was weighted binary, and studies with 6 points or more were judged to be valid for assessing the predictive value of MRI for outcome. RESULTS: The 13 included studies had several methodological weaknesses with respect to internal validity, and none of them took lesion location into account. Only a few used outcome measures according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and followed patients beyond 6 months. Correlation coefficients between MRI lesion volume and outcomes were higher for outcomes defined at body function level (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; median 0.67; range: 0.57-0.91) than for those defined at the level of activities (Barthel Index; median -0.49; range: -0.33 to -0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Methodological shortcomings of most studies confound the prognostic value of MRI in predicting stroke outcome, and few studies have focused on functional outcome. Future studies should investigate the added value of MRI volume over clinical neurological variables in predicting functional outcome beyond 6 months poststroke.

Ischemic lesion volume correlates with long-term functional outcome and quality of life of middle cerebral artery stroke survivors.

PURPOSE: Previous studies investigating relationships between stroke lesion volume and outcome were restricted to short follow-up periods (3-6 months) and outcome measures of stroke severity and activities only, whereas functional improvement has been found to extend far beyond six months. Therefore, this study investigated relationships between infarct volume and a broad range of outcomes of stroke survivors at a long follow-up period. METHODS: Correlations between lesion volumes (determined by conventional MRI scans in the second week post-stroke) and outcomes after one year of 75 first-ever ischemic stroke survivors were investigated. RESULTS: Moderate Spearman Rank correlation coefficients were found between lesion volume and motor impairment (Motricity Index (MI): -0.43, p < 0.01; Fugl Meyer Motor Assessment Scale (FM): -0.43; p < 0.01). Correlation coefficients with activities of daily living were moderate but low associated with Barthel Index (r(s) = 0.30; p < 0.01), modified Rankin Scale (r(s) = 0.39; p < 0.01) and Frenchay Activities Index (r(s) = -0.35; p < 0.01). Lesion volume had a significant but low association (r(s) = 0.27; p = 0.02) with patient's health status measured with Sickness Impact Profile 68 (SIP68)) and a moderate correlation with well-being assessed with Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ; r(s) = -0.45; p < 0.01). Found correlation coefficients were slightly stronger after correction for mixed (cortical/subcortical) and purely subcortical lesion location. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that infarct volume moderately correlates with long-term motor impairment, functional outcome and quality of life of patients surviving stroke.

Relationship between ischemic lesion volume and functional status in the 2nd week after middle cerebral artery stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between the volume of the middle cerebral artery stroke lesion and functional status in the subacute phase of stroke. METHODS: Infarctvolumes of 94 patients with a 1st middle cerebral artery stroke assessed on conventional MRI scans obtained in the 2nd week poststroke were related to a clinical measure of stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS]) and to functional status: motor impairment (Motricity Index [MI]) and limitation in activities (Barthel Index [BI] and modified Rankin Scale). Separate correlations were computed for patients with large (>30 ml) and small (30 ml) lesions, and to investigate the influence of lesion location on the relationship between volume and functional status, correlations were computed for patients with left and right hemisphere lesions and for patients with cortical and subcortical lesions. RESULTS: Lesion volume correlated strongly with NIHSS scores (R = 0.61) and moderately with the patient's functional status (MI [R between -0.42 and - 0.49], BI [R = -0.43], and Modified Rankin Scale [R = 0.45]). Right hemisphere lesions and cortical lesions had a stronger correlation with functional status. In patients with small lesion volumes (0-30 ml), no relationship between lesion volumes and functional status was seen at all. CONCLUSIONS: Lesion volume is moderately to strongly related to the functional status in the 2nd week poststroke.