Longitudinal Clinical Features of Post-COVID-19 Patients-Symptoms, Fatigue and Physical Function at 3- and 6-Month Follow-Up.
Anke SteinmetzStefan GrossKristin LehnertPetra LückerNele FriedrichMatthias NauckSusanne BahlmannJens FielitzMarcus DörrPublished in: Journal of clinical medicine (2023)
Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) has been described as 'the pandemic after the pandemic' with more than 65 million people worldwide being affected. The enormous range of symptoms makes both diagnosis complex and treatment difficult. In a post-COVID rehabilitation outpatient clinic, 184 patients, mostly non-hospitalized, received a comprehensive, interdisciplinary diagnostic assessment with fixed follow-up appointments. At baseline, three in four patients reported more than 10 symptoms, the most frequent symptoms were fatigue (84.9%), decreased physical capacity (83.0%), tiredness (81.1%), poor concentration (73.6%), sleeping problems (66.7%) and shortness of breath (67.3%). Abnormalities were found in the mean values of scores for fatigue (FAS = 34.3), cognition (MoCA = 25.5), psychological alterations (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder), limitation of lung function (CAT) and severity scores for PCS (PCFS, MCRS). Clinical abnormalities were found in elevated values of heart rate, breathing rate at rest, blood pressure and NT-proBNP levels. As the frequency of the described symptoms decreases only slowly but most often significantly over the course, it is important to monitor the patients over a longer period of time. Many of them suffer from an immense symptom burden, often without pre-existing clinical correlates. Our results show a clear association with objectifiable assessments and tests as well as pronounced symptoms.
Keyphrases
- sleep quality
- end stage renal disease
- sars cov
- heart rate
- coronavirus disease
- blood pressure
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- lung function
- peritoneal dialysis
- prognostic factors
- type diabetes
- patient reported outcomes
- heart rate variability
- patient reported
- air pollution
- depressive symptoms
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- physical activity
- risk factors
- insulin resistance
- combination therapy