Respiratory failure & ventilation
Longer intensive care units (ICU) stay and invasive mechanical ventilation accelerate telomere shortening in COVID-19 patients 1 year after recovery
Authors' conclusion
Patients with longer ICU-LOS and those who required IMV had a shorter RTL in peripheral blood, as observed 1 year after hospital discharge. Additionally, patients who required IMV and developed pulmonary fibrosis had greater telomere shortening, showing shorter telomeres at the 1-year visit.
Study context
- Population
- Patients admitted to ICU due to COVID-19 (August 2020 to April 2021)
- Participants
- 49 patients
- Outcome
- Dynamics of relative telomere length (RTL) in whole blood, baseline (hospitalization) to 1 year after discharge
- Follow-up
- 1 year after discharge
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
RTL shortening during follow-up · 1-year visit
- Greater relative telomere length (RTL) shortening in patients with longer ICU-LOS or who required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV)
- Greater RTL shortening in patients who required pronation
- IMV patients who developed pulmonary fibrosis: greater RTL reduction and shorter RTL at 1-year visit
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Baseline characteristics
- Median age, years
- 60
- Males
- 71.4%
- Median ICU-LOS, days
- 12
- Required IMV
- 73.5%
- Required prone position
- 38.8%
Original publication
Longer ICU stay and invasive mechanical ventilation accelerate telomere shortening in COVID-19 patients 1 year after recovery. Crit Care. Published 7 August 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →