COVID-19: Post-recovery long-term symptoms among patients in Saudi Arabia.

Autor: Khodeir MM; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.; Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, KSA., Shabana HA; Faculty of Medicine, Chest Diseases Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt., Rasheed Z; Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, KSA., Alkhamiss AS; Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, KSA., Khodeir M; Psychiatric Department, Brook Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America., Alkhowailed MS; Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia., Alharbi S; Pulmonary Department, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Ministry of Health, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia., Alsoghair M; Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, KSA., Alsagaby SA; Department of Medical Laboratories, Central Biosciences Research Laboratories, College of Science in Al Zulfi, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, Saudi Arabia., Al Abdulmonem W; Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, KSA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2021 Dec 08; Vol. 16 (12), pp. e0260259. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Dec 08 (Print Publication: 2021).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260259
Abstrakt: Background: After recovery from acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many patients experience long-term symptoms in different body systems. The aim of the present study was to identify these symptoms, their severity, and their duration as a first step in building a system to classify post-recovery long-term symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was administered between September and October 2020. Data regarding the severity of post-recovery symptoms and their duration were collected using an Arabic questionnaire divided into six categories encompassing the 20 most prevalent symptoms.
Results: A total of 979 patients recovered from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia in the study period, of whom 53% were male and 47% were female. The most common symptoms included general fatigue and weakness (73% each), with moderate severity of neurological symptoms including mood changes (41%) and insomnia (39%). Among the special senses, loss of smell and taste of marked severity were reported by 64% and 55% among respiratory symptoms, cough of mild severity (47%), and dyspnea of moderate severity (43%). Loss of appetite of moderate severity was reported in 42%, and diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea of mild severity were reported by 53%, 50%, and 44% of respondents, respectively.
Conclusions: Long-term symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 warrant patient follow-up. The authors propose a classification system as a starting point to guide the identification and follow-up of long-term symptoms post-recovery, and recommend larger-scale studies to broaden the definition of recovery from COVID-19, which appears to have two phases, acute and chronic.
Competing Interests: No authors have competing interests.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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