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Family members of critically ill patients with COVID-19 have described increased symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Little is known about how these symptoms may change over time.We studied changes in PTSD symptoms in family members of critically ill patients with COVID-19 over 12-months.This prospective, multi-site observational cohort study recruited participants at 12 hospitals in 5 states. Calls were made to participants at 3-4 months, 6-months, and 12-months post-patient admission to the ICU.There were 955 eligible family members, of whom 330 (53.3% of those reached) consented to participate. Complete longitudinal data was acquired for 115 individuals (34.8% of consented). PTSD symptoms were measured by the Impact of Events Scale-6 (IES-6), with a score of ≥10 identifying significant symptoms. At 3-months, the mean IES-6 score was 11.9±6.1 with 63.6% having significant symptoms, decreasing to 32.9% at one year (mean IES-6 score 7.6±5.0). Three clusters of symptom evolution emerged over time: persistent symptoms (34.8%, n=40), recovered symptoms (33.0%, n=38) and non-development of symptoms (32.2%, n=37). While participants identifying as Hispanic demonstrated initially higher adjusted IES-6 scores (2.57 points higher [95% CI: 1.1, 4.1, p =0.001]), they also demonstrated a more dramatic improvement in adjusted scores over time (4.7 greater decrease at 12 months [95% CI: 3.2-6.3, p.001]).One year later, some family members of patients with COVID-19 continue to experience significant symptoms of PTSD. Further studies are needed to better understand how various differences contribute to increased risk for these symptoms.

IMPORTANCE: The psychological symptoms associated with having a family member admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic are not well defined. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of symptoms of stress-related disorders, primarily posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in family members of patients admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 approximately 90 days after admission. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective, multisite, mixed-methods observational cohort study assessed 330 family members of patients admitted to the ICU (except in New York City, which had a random sample of 25% of all admitted patients per month) between February 1 and July 31, 2020, at 8 academic-affiliated and 4 community-based hospitals in 5 US states. EXPOSURE: Having a family member in the ICU with COVID-19. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Symptoms of PTSD at 3 months, as defined by a score of 10 or higher on the Impact of Events Scale 6 (IES-6). RESULTS: A total of 330 participants (mean [SD] age, 51.2 [15.1] years; 228 [69.1%] women; 150 [52.8%] White; 92 [29.8%] Hispanic) were surveyed at the 3-month time point. Most individuals were the patients’ child (129 [40.6%]) or spouse or partner (81 [25.5%]). The mean (SD) IES-6 score at 3 months was 11.9 (6.1), with 201 of 316 respondents (63.6%) having scores of 10 or higher, indicating significant symptoms of PTSD. Female participants had an adjusted mean IES-6 score of 2.6 points higher (95% CI, 1.4-3.8; P

Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) but there are no established methods to study pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs) from living patients. We sought to culture PAECs from pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) balloons used during right-heart catheterisation (RHC) to characterise successful culture attempts and to describe PAEC behaviour.PAECs were grown in primary culture to confluence and endothelial cell phenotype was confirmed. Standard assays for apoptosis, migration and tube formation were performed between passages three to eight. We collected 49 PAC tips from 45 subjects with successful PAEC culture from 19 balloons (39%).There were no differences in subject demographic details or RHC procedural details in successful versus unsuccessful attempts. However, for subjects who met haemodynamic criteria for PAH, there was a higher but nonsignificant (p=0.10) proportion amongst successful attempts (10 out of 19, 53%) versus unsuccessful attempts (nine out of 30, 30%). A successful culture was more likely in subjects with a lower cardiac index (p=0.03) and higher pulmonary vascular resistance (p=0.04). PAECs from a subject with idiopathic PAH were apoptosis resistant compared to commercial PAECs (p=0.04) and had reduced migration compared to PAECs from a subject with portopulmonary hypertension with high cardiac output (p=0.01). PAECs from a subject with HIV-associated PAH formed fewer (p=0.01) and shorter (p=0.02) vessel networks compared to commercial PAECs.Sustained culture and characterisation of PAECs from RHC balloons is feasible, especially in PAH with high haemodynamic burden. This technique may provide insight into endothelial dysfunction during PAH pathogenesis.