Abstract
Objectives: Various symptoms and considerable organ dysfunction persist following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Uncertainty remains about the potential mid- and long-term health sequelae. This prospective study of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Liège University Hospital, Belgium aimed to determine the persistent consequences of COVID-19.
Methods: Patients admitted to the University Hospital of Liège with moderate-to-severe confirmed COVID-19, discharged between 2 March and 1 October 2020, were recruited prospectively. Follow-up at 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge included demographic and clinical data, biological data, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest.
Results: In total, 199 individuals were included in the analysis. Most patients received oxygen supplementation (80.4%). Six months after discharge, 47% and 32% of patients still had exertional dyspnoea and fatigue. PFTs at 3-month follow-up revealed a reduced diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (mean 71.6 ± 18.6%), and this increased significantly at 6-month follow-up (P<0.0001). Chest CT scans showed a high prevalence (68.9% of the cohort) of persistent abnormalities, mainly ground glass opacities. Duration of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation were not associated with the persistence of symptoms 3 months after discharge.
Conclusion: The prevalence of persistent symptoms following hospitalization with COVID-19 is high and stable for up to 6 months after discharge. However, biological, functional and iconographic abnormalities improved significantly over time.
Keywords: COVID-19; long COVID; post-COVID; post-acute COVID-19; sequelae.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Long COVID, Post-COVID, Sequelae, post-acute COVID-19, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, intensive care, mechanical ventilation, Hospitalization, fatigue, Prospective Study, Infection, Symptom, discharge, Prevalence, Computed tomography, Duration, Cohort, Health, Pulmonary function test, persistence, CT scan, Chest, ground glass opacities, Patient, organ dysfunction, Follow-up, Uncertainty, Belgium, university, Admission, Dyspnoea, Coronavirus-2, Analysis, High-resolution, diffusion capacity, acute respiratory syndrome, Clinical data, individual, hospital discharge, Abnormalities, abnormality, oxygen supplementation, consequence, significantly, recruited, Most patient, reduced, functional, determine, discharged, patients hospitalized, with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 Patient, Follow-up, moderate-to-severe COVID-19, prospective observational cohort,