Acute and Critical Care 2024;39(1):47-60

doi:10.4266/acc.2023.01284

Prolonged intensive care: muscular functional, and nutritional insights from the COVID-19 pandemic

Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ-CAMACHO 1 ; Robert Alexander JONES-BARO ; Alberto GÓMEZ-GONZÁLEZ ; Dalia Sahian LUGO-GARCÍA ; Pía Carolina Gallardo ASTORGA ; Andrea MELO-VILLALOBOS ; Bárbara Kassandra GONZALEZ-RODRIGUEZ ; Ángel Augusto PÉREZ-CALATAYUD

Affiliations

+expand

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, clinical staff learned how to manage patients enduring extended stays in an intensive care unit (ICU). COVID-19 patients requiring critical care in an ICU face a high risk of experiencing prolonged intensive care (PIC). The use of invasive mechanical ventilation in individuals with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome can cause numerous complications that influence both short-term and long-term morbidity and mortality. Those risks underscore the importance of proactively addressing functional complications. Mitigating secondary complications unrelated to the primary pathology of admission is imperative in minimizing the risk of PIC. Therefore, incorporating strategies to do that into daily ICU practice for both COVID-19 patients and those critically ill from other conditions is significantly important.