Evaluation of post-acute-COVID-19, and long-COVID symptoms with a questionnaire: Within one year, a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE: Long-term consequences of COVID-19 vary widely, representing a growing global health challenge. The aim of this report was to define the presence of symptoms in post-acute-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) patients and to assess the frequency, associated factors, and the spectrum of persistent symptoms.
METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 487 adults with a previously diagnosed “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2) who admitted to COVID-19 follow-up outpatient clinic between December 1, 2020 and November 31, 2021 were interviewed face-to-face three times. Data was collected on patient demographics, comorbidities, and symptoms. A questionnaire of 160 questions was asked and organized into the following: identification and consent, socio-demographic/ epidemiological characteristics, previous medical history, diagnosis and clinical presentation of acute COVID-19, as well as systematic symptoms. Data were evaluated using univariate comparisons and multiple logistic regression.
RESULTS: The most prevalent symptoms among all PCS patients during their initial visit were dyspnea, weakness, forgetfulness, fatigue, and arthralgia respectively. The most common symptoms in patients with 6 months or more time from discharge to follow-up at the first and second visits, appear to be persistent. While incidence rates decreased by the third visit, the five most common symptoms remained the same. The possibility of weakness and arthralgia was found to be higher in non-hospitalized patients. Females were associated with the most common persistent symptoms and the strongest association was with arthralgia.
CONCLUSION: A large number of COVID-19 survivors had continuing symptoms at the first year of post-COVID-19-infection. Neither the presence of comorbidities of the patient nor smoking status were associated with the severity of PCS symptoms. A better understanding of the mechanisms, predisposing factors and evaluation require a multidisciplinary team approach.

Post-akut-COVID-19 ve uzamýþ-COVID semptomlarýnýn anket ile deðerlendirilmesi: Bir yýl içindeki, boylamsal bir çalýþma

Giriþ: COVID-19’un uzun vadeli sonuçlarý, büyük ölçüde çeþitlilik göstermektedir ve büyüyen küresel bir saðlýk sorunudur. Bu çalýþmanýn amacý, post-akut-COVID-19 sendrom (PCS) hastalarýnda semptomlarýn varlýðýný tanýmlamak ve kalýcý semptomlarýn sýklýðýný, iliþkili faktörleri ve çeþitliliðini deðerlendirmektir.
Yöntem: Boylamsal çalýþmada, 1 Aralýk 2020 ile 31 Kasým 2021 tarihleri arasýnda COVID-19 takip polikliniðine baþvuran ve önceden “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2) tanýsý almýþ 487 yetiþkinle, yüz yüze, üç kez görüþüldü. Veriler tek deðiþkenli karþýlaþtýrmalar ve çoklu lojistik regresyon kullanýlarak deðerlendirildi.
Bulgular: Tüm PCS hastalarýnýn ilk ziyaretlerindeki en yaygýn semptomlar, sýrasýyla, nefes darlýðý, halsizlik, unutkanlýk, yorgunluk ve eklem aðrýsý idi. Taburculuktan takibe kadar geçen süre 6 ay veya daha fazla olan hastalarda, birinci ve ikinci ziyaretlerde en sýk görülen semptomlar kalýcý görünmekteydi. Üçüncü ziyarette insidans oranlarý düþerken, en sýk görülen beþ semptom ayný kaldý. Hastaneye yatmayan hastalarda, halsizlik ve eklem aðrýsý olasýlýðý daha yüksek bulundu. Kadýn cinsiyetin, kalýcý semptomlarla, özellikle de eklem aðrýsý ile daha fazla birliktelik gösterdiði saptandý.
Sonuç: COVID-19’dan sað kurtulan çok sayýda kiþinin, COVID-19 enfeksiyonu sonrasý ilk yýlda semptomlarý devam etti. Hastalarýn ek hastalýklarýnýn varlýðý ve sigara içme durumlarý PCS semptomlarýnýn düzeyi ile iliþkili bulunmadý. Mekanizmalarýn, predipozan faktörlerin ve deðerlendirmenin daha iyi anlaþýlmasý, multidisipliner bir ekip yaklaþýmý gerektirmektedir. (NCI-2022-11-18)