Chronic Pain in COVID-19 Patients Discharged From Intensive Care Unit

More than six million French were affected by SARS-COV2 epidemic. About 20% of infected peoples were hospitalized, and about 5% were admitted to the intensive care units (ICU) for severe SARS-COV2 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) management. A spectrum of neuropsychiatric sequelae, specific for the ICU exposure, was already described, including post-intensive care syndrome and persistent pain. A growing body of evidence suggests the impact of SARS-COV2 exposure on the occurrence of neurological disorders and chronic pain syndrome development in COVID-19 patients. Taking together, one can expect a large number of patients discharged from ICU after severe COVID-19 with high prevalence of persistent pain and psychological disorders. To date, no study has evaluated neither the incidence of persistant pains in ICU COVID-19 survivors, nor pain phenotypes. The knowledge of such data is crucial in order to anticipate the management of such patients by specialized pain team, and to quantify the possible incurred burden of care. Our study aims to evaluate the incidence of pain, pain localization and severity, associated pain-related psychological disorders, and to perform quantitative sensory testing in severe COVID-19 patients, admitted to the ICU for more than 48 hours and successfully discharged home during the first French pandemic wave.