The persistence of symptoms after infection with SARS.
The persistence of symptoms after infection with SARS-CoV-2 can last for many months and has been defined as a clinical entity called Long COVID. Long COVID affects patients with numerous symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, breathing difficulties, difficulty concentrating („brain fog“), chest pain and many more, which impair daily life. „Determinants of symptom persistence and impact on physical and mental well-being in long COVID: A prospective cohort study“ is a study investigating the health status of patients after COVID-19 infection. The University of Verona (Italy) enrolled over 400 patients who were hospitalised or treated at home for COVID-19 and whose symptoms, particularly muscle pain, fatigue and breathing difficulties, persisted for up to 9 months after the acute illness. Physical and psychological well-being was influenced by the duration and number of symptoms, and factors such as ICU hospitalisation and age had an impact favouring Long COVID. Our findings encourage follow-up of patients at risk of Long COVID. The ORCHESTRA project makes an important contribution to the management of patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection by providing outpatient appointments for blood tests, radiological examinations and specialist visits.
The study has been published here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35150765/