Published in:
Open Access
01-12-2022 | COVID-19 | Research
Clinical status of patients 1 year after hospital discharge following recovery from COVID-19: a prospective cohort study
Authors:
Dapeng Li, Xuejiao Liao, Zhenghua Ma, Lina Zhang, Jingke Dong, Guoqin Zheng, Mei Zi, Wujian Peng, Lanlan Wei, Zhiyan Li, Yingjun Kong, Lifei Wang, Dongjing Liu, Fang Wang, Qing He, Guobao Li, Zheng Zhang, Lei Liu
Published in:
Annals of Intensive Care
|
Issue 1/2022
Login to get access
Abstract
Background
The long-term clinical status of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in recovered patients remains largely unknown. This prospective cohort study evaluated clinical status of COVID-19 and explored the associated risk factors.
Methods
At the outpatient visit, patients underwent routine blood tests, physical examinations, pulmonary function tests, 6-min walk test, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) of the chest, and extrapulmonary organ function tests.
Results
230 patients were analyzed. Half (52.7%) reported at least one symptom, most commonly fatigue (20.3%) and sleep difficulties (15.8%). Anxiety (8.2%), depression (11.3%), post-traumatic symptoms (10.3%), and sleep disorders (26.3%) were also reported. Diffusion impairments were found in 35.4% of the patients. Abnormal chest CT scans were present in 63.5% of the patients, mainly reticulation and ground-glass opacities. Further, a persistent decline in kidney function was observed after discharge. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies of IgA, IgG, and IgM were positive in 56.4%, 96.3%, and 15.2% of patients, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression showed that disease severity, age, and sex were closely related to patient recovery.
Conclusions
One year after hospital discharge, patients recovered from COVID-19 continued to experience both pulmonary and extrapulmonary dysfunction. While paying attention to pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19, follow-up studies on extrapulmonary manifestations should be strengthened.