Persistent Symptoms in Patients Recovering From COVID-19 in Denmark

Background. Although persistent symptoms after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are emerging as a major complication to the infection, data on the diversity and duration of symptoms are needed. Methods. Patients aged >= 18 years with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 who were hospitalized at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, in the period from March 11 to May 15 were offered follow-up after hospitalization. On admission, a comprehensive symptom and medical history was collected, including demographic characteristics, duration of symptoms, comorbidities, and concomitant medications. At discharge, patients were offered follow-up consultations-either by telephone or at an in-person visit-at 6 and 12 weeks at our post-COVID-19 outpatient clinic to assess whether symptoms present at admission had resolved. Results. During the inclusion period, 71 patients were admitted with COVID-19. Of these, 10 patients died, 3 were transferred to another region, 4 declined to participate, and 5 were lost to follow-up before the 12-week evaluation. Thus, 49 patients were included. Overall, 96% reported 1 or more persisting symptoms at 12-week follow-up. The main symptoms were fatigue, dyspnea, cough, chemosensory dysfunction, and headache. Conclusions. A wide range of persistent symptoms in patients recovering from COVID-19 were present 12 weeks after hospitalization, calling for larger descriptive studies and interdisciplinary research collaborations.

Automated summary

The study found that 96% of recovered patients from COVID-19 still reported one or more persistent symptoms at 12 weeks post-hospitalization, with fatigue, dyspnea, cough, chemosensory dysfunction, and headache being the main symptoms. This calls for larger descriptive studies and interdisciplinary research collaborations to further understand the wide range of persistent symptoms in COVID-19 patients.