Long COVID in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients in a large cohort in Northwest Spain, a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Survivors to COVID-19 have described long-term symptoms after acute disease. These signs constitute a heterogeneous group named long COVID or persistent COVID. The aim of this study is to describe persisting symptoms 6 months after COVID-19 diagnosis in a prospective cohort in the Northwest Spain. This is a prospective cohort study performed in the COHVID-GS. This cohort includes patients in clinical follow-up in a health area of 569,534 inhabitants after SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 diagnosis. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics were collected during the follow up. A total of 248 patients completed 6 months follow-up, 176 (69.4%) required hospitalization and 29 (10.2%) of them needed critical care. At 6 months, 119 (48.0%) patients described one or more persisting symptoms. The most prevalent were: extra-thoracic symptoms (39.1%), chest symptoms (27%), dyspnoea (20.6%), and fatigue (16.1%). These symptoms were more common in hospitalized patients (52.3% vs. 38.2%) and in women (59.0% vs. 40.5%). The multivariate analysis identified COPD, women gender and tobacco consumption as risk factors for long COVID. Persisting symptoms are common after COVID-19 especially in hospitalized patients compared to outpatients (52.3% vs. 38.2%). Based on these findings, special attention and clinical follow-up after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection should be provided for hospitalized patients with previous lung diseases, tobacco consumption, and women.

The Greek Collaborative Long COVID Study: Non-Hospitalized and Hospitalized Patients Share Similar Symptom Patterns

“…Parosmia and other smell disorders were most commonly reported in the non-hospitalized group of patients which is in accordance with previous reports showing that olfactory dysfunction appears to be a component of LongCOVID, with parosmia as a prominent symptom in almost half of those with smell loss [ 28 ]. In a recent study byPérez–González et al, extra-thoracic symptoms (39.1%), chest symptoms (27%), dyspnoea (20.6%) and fatigue (16.1%) were more common in hospitalized patients (52.3% vs. 38.2%) and in women (59.0% vs. 40.5%) [ 29 ]. In another recent study byAli et al, non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients continue to experience neurologic symptoms, fatigue, and compromised quality of life 14.8 months after initial infection [ 30 ].…”

Reviewing fair subject selection considerations for the unique case of post sequelae COVID-19 translational studies

“…56 Research at https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2022.425 Published online by Cambridge University Press the end of 2021 and in 2022 suggests that people who are not hospitalized also have significant PASC symptoms. [57][58][59][60] The first 15 published studies on PASC identified 55 different symptoms, while patient-led initiatives have identified over 205 PASC-related features. 53 Studies use different terms for similar symptoms and cover very different timelines ranging from two weeks after onset of symptoms to more than 6 months.…”

“…A review of prospective studies on the natural history of PASC suggests that the majority of studies recruit hospitalized patients; it remains unclear if ICU patients, hospitalized patients, and nonhospitalized patients have different PASC symptoms and needs [56]. Research at the end of 2021 and in 2022 suggests that people who are not hospitalized also have significant PASC symptoms [57][58][59][60].…”

Role of Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2 (Nrf2) in the Recovery of Long COVID-19 Using Natural Antioxidants: A Systematic Review

“…The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has become a global health problem worldwide [ 1 ]. Moreover, along with its development, SARS-CoV-2 mutated into various variants, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron, Lambda, and Mu, drawing the world’s attention.…”