TY - JOUR AU - Becker, Christoph AU - Beck, Katharina AU - Zumbrunn, Samuel AU - Memma, Valentina AU - Herzog, Naemi AU - Bissmann, Benjamin AU - Gross, Sebastian AU - Loretz, Nina AU - Mueller, Jonas AU - Amacher, Simon A. AU - Bohren, Chantal AU - Schaefert, Rainer AU - Bassetti, Stefano AU - Fux, Christoph AU - Mueller, Beat AU - Schuetz, Philipp AU - Hunziker, Sabina PY - 2021/10/22 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Long COVID 1 year after hospitalisation for COVID-19: a prospective bicentric cohort study JF - Swiss Medical Weekly JA - Swiss Med Wkly VL - 151 IS - 4142 SE - Original article DO - 10.4414/SMW.2021.w30091 UR - https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3094 SP - w30091 AB - <p><p>AIMS OF THE STUDY: There is increasing interest in better understanding of long COVID, a condition characterised by long-term sequelae — appearing or persisting after the typical convalescence period — of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Herein, we describe long-term outcomes regarding residual symptoms and psychological distress in hospitalised patients 1 year after COVID-19.</p><p>METHODS: This prospective cohort study included consecutive adult patients hospitalised for confirmed COVID-19 in two Swiss tertiary-care hospitals between March and June 2020. The primary endpoint was evidence of long COVID 1 year after discharge, defined as ≥1 persisting or new symptom related to COVID-19, from a predefined list of symptoms. Secondary endpoints included psychological distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).</p><p>RESULTS: Among 90 patients included in the study, 63 (70%) had symptoms of long COVID 1 year after hospitalisation, particularly fatigue (46%), concentration difficulties (31%), shortness of breath (21%) and post-exertion malaise (20%). Three predictors, namely duration of hospitalisation (odds ratio [OR] 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.22; p = 0.041), severity of illness (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.37; p = 0.013), and self-perceived overall health status 30 days after hospitalisation (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94–1.00; p = 0.027) were associated with long COVID. Regarding secondary endpoints, 16 (18%) experienced psychological distress and 3 (3.3%) patients had symptoms of PTSD.</p><p>CONCLUSION: A high proportion of COVID-19 patients report symptoms of long COVID 1 year after hospitalisation, which negatively affects their quality of life. The most important risk factors were severe initial presentation of COVID-19 with long hospital stays.</p></p> ER -