Assessment and characterisation of post-COVID-19 manifestations

Background Post-COVID-19 symptoms and diseases appeared on many survivors from COVID-19 which are similar to that of the post-severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) fatigue. Hence, the study aims to investigate and characterise the manifestations which appear after eradication of the coronavirus infection and its relation to disease severity. Method About 287 survivors from COVID-19 were included in the study, each received a questionnaire divided into three main parts starting from subjects' demographic data, data about the COVID-19 status and other comorbidities of the subject, and finally data about post-COVID-19 manifestations. Response surface plots were produced to visualise the link between several factors. Results Only 10.8% of all subjects have no manifestation after recovery from the disease while a large percentage of subjects suffered from several symptoms and diseases. The most common symptom reported was fatigue (72.8%), more critical manifestations like stroke, renal failure, myocarditis and pulmonary fibrosis were reported by a few percent of the subjects. There was a relationship between the presence of other comorbidities and severity of the disease. Also, the severity of COVID-19 was related to the severity of post-COVID-19 manifestations. Conclusion The post-COVID-19 manifestation is largely similar to the post-SARS syndrome. All subjects recovered from COVID-19 should undergo long-term monitoring for evaluation and treatment of symptoms and conditions that might be precipitated with the new coronavirus infection.

Automated summary

The study found that the majority of COVID-19 survivors experience post-viral symptoms, with fatigue being the most common, and some experiencing severe complications such as stroke and myocarditis. The presence of comorbidities prior to COVID-19 infection is related to the severity of post-COVID-19 manifestations.