Journal
LUNG
Volume 199, Issue 2, Pages 113-119Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00408-021-00423-z
Keywords
Long-COVID; COVID-19; Symptom burden
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Recent studies have shown that COVID-19 patients may experience lasting symptoms, with females being more likely to report residual symptoms. The phenomenon of Long-COVID may not be solely attributed to the impact of SARS-CoV-2, indicating a potential role of biopsychosocial effects of COVID-19 in its etiology.
The enduring impact of COVID-19 on patients has been examined in recent studies, leading to the description of Long-COVID. We report the lasting symptom burden of COVID-19 patients from the first wave of the pandemic. All patients with COVID-19 pneumonia discharged from a large teaching hospital trust were offered follow-up. We assessed symptom burden at follow-up using a standardised data collection technique during virtual outpatient clinic appointments. Eighty-six percent of patients reported at least one residual symptom at follow-up. No patients had persistent radiographic abnormalities. The presence of symptoms at follow-up was not associated with the severity of the acute COVID-19 illness. Females were significantly more likely to report residual symptoms including anxiety (p = 0.001), fatigue (p = 0.004), and myalgia (p = 0.022). The presence of long-lasting symptoms is common in COVID-19 patients. We suggest that the phenomenon of Long-COVID may not be directly attributable to the effect of SARS-CoV-2, and believe the biopsychosocial effects of COVID-19 may play a greater role in its aetiology.
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