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Emerg Infect Dis
. 2022 Feb;28(2):347-353.
doi: 10.3201/eid2802.211848.
Comparison of Complications after Coronavirus Disease and Seasonal Influenza, South Korea
Hyejin Lee, Ho Kyung Sung, Dokyoung Lee, Yeonmi Choi, Ji Yoon Lee, Jin Yong Lee, Myoung-Don Oh
- PMID: 35076368
- DOI: 10.3201/eid2802.211848
Abstract
We conducted a retrospective cohort study using claims data to determine the number and types of complications from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that patients experience and which patients are more vulnerable to those complications compared with complications in patients with influenza. Among the cohort, 19.6% of COVID-19 patients and 28.5% of influenza patients had >1 new complication. In most complications, COVID-19 patients had lower or similar relative risk compared with influenza patients; exceptions were hair loss, heart failure, mood disorder, and dementia. Young to middle-aged adult COVID-19 patients and patients in COVID-19 hotspots had a higher risk for complications. Overall, COVID-19 patients had fewer complications than influenza patients, but caution is necessary in high-risk groups. If the fatality rate for COVID-19 is reduced through vaccination, management strategies for this disease could be adapted, similar to those for influenza management, such as easing restrictions on economic activity or requirements for close-contact isolation.
Keywords: COVID-19; Choi Y; Lee D; Lee JY; SARS-CoV-2; South Korea. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Feb [date cited]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2802.211848; Suggested citation for this article: Lee H; Sung HK; complications; coronavirus disease; et al. Comparison of complications after coronavirus disease and seasonal influenza; influenza; long COVID; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.