Patients with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation are no more likely than other critically ill ventilated patients to have a legacy of poor physical or psychological functioning, a study shows.

Critical care researchers, led by Professor Carol Hodgson from Monash University, had hypothesised that patients with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 might be more likely to die or develop new disabilities.  

The team investigated outcomes for 120 patients with COVID-19 receiving more than 24 hours of mechanical ventilation and compared them with 199 other critically ill patients receiving similar support at one of 26 ICUs across Australia between March 2020 and April 2021.

Patients with COVID-19 were older, were more likely to have chronic cardiac failure and had a higher respiratory rate and temperature at admission to the ICU.