Objectives To describe the prevalence, nature, and risk factors for the main clinical sequelae in COVID-19 survivors who have been discharged from the hospital for more than 3 months. Methods This longitudinal study was based on a telephone follow-up survey of COVID-19 patients hospitalized and discharged from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China before March 1, 2020. Demographic and clinical characteristics and self-reported clinical sequelae of the survivors were described and analysed. A cohort of volunteers who were free of COVID-19 and lived in the urban area of Wuhan during the outbreak were also selected as the comparison group. Results Among 538 survivors (293[54.5%] female), the median age was 52.0 years (IQR 41.0–62.0), and the median time from discharge from hospital to first follow-up was 97.0 days (IQR 95.0–102.0). Clinical sequelae were common, including general symptoms (n=267, 49.6%), respiratory symptoms (n=210, 39%), cardiovascular-related symptoms (n=70, 13%), psychosocial symptoms (n=122, 22.7%) and alopecia (n=154, 28.6%). We found that physical decline/fatigue (P<0.01), post-activity polypnea (P=0.04) and alopecia (P<0.01) were more common in females than in males. Dyspnoea during hospitalization was associated with subsequent physical decline/fatigue, post-activity polypnea and resting heart rate increases, but not specifically with alopecia. A history of asthma during hospitalization was associated with subsequent post-activity polypnea sequela. A history of pulse ≥90 beats per min during hospitalization was associated with resting heart rate increase in convalescence. The duration of viral shedding after COVID-19 onset and hospital length of stay were longer in survivors with physical decline/fatigue or post-activity polypnea than in those without. Conclusion Clinical sequelae during early COVID-19 convalescence were common, and some of these sequelae might be related to gender, age and clinical characteristics during hospitalization.

No abstract

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a global health problem that causes major illnesses and disabilities worldwide. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of AR has increased progressively over the last few decades in more developed countries and currently affects up to 40% of the population worldwide. Likewise, a rising trend of AR has also been observed over the last 2–3 decades in developing countries including China, with the prevalence of AR varying widely in these countries. A survey of self-reported AR over a 6-year period in the general Chinese adult population reported that the standardized prevalence of adult AR increased from 11.1% in 2005 to 17.6% in 2011. An increasing number of original articles and imporclinical trials on the epidemiology, pathophysiologic mechanisms, diagnosis, management and comorbidities of AR in Chinese subjects have been published in international peer-reviewed journals over the past 2 decades, and substantially added to our understanding of this disease as a global problem. Although guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in Chinese subjects have also been published, they have not been translated into English and therefore not generally accessible for reference to non-Chinese speaking international medical communities. Moreover, methods for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in China have not been standardized entirely and some patients are still treated according to regional preferences. Thus, the present guidelines have been developed by the Chinese Society of Allergy to be accessible to both national and international medical communities involved in the management of AR patients. These guidelines have been prepared in line with existing international guidelines to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of AR in China.

No abstract