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PLoS One
. 2022 Aug 10;17(8):e0272636.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272636. eCollection 2022.
Post-COVID syndrome: A prospective study in a tertiary hospital of Nepal
Sangam Shah 1 , Shreeyash Raj Bhattarai 1 , Kriti Basnet 1 , Yagya Raj Adhikari 2 , Tara Ballav Adhikari 3 4 5 , Nikita Bhatta 6 , Rajan Chamlagain 2 , Susan Aryal 2 , Sanjit Kumar Sah 2 , Govinda Bhandari 2 , Bibek Bhandari 7 , Sujan Poudel 8 , Pankaj Pant 9 , Santa Kumar Das 9
Affiliations
- PMID: 35947595
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272636
Abstract
Introduction: The post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome is defined as the persistence of symptoms after viral clearance and the emergence of new symptoms after a few months following recovery from COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of post-COVID-19 syndrome and the risk factors that contribute to its development.
Methods: This study was conducted prospectively in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), located in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. The patients were followed up for three months.
Results: The post-COVID status of 300 patients admitted to the COVID emergency of TUTH was studied. The mean age of the patients was 46.6±15.7 years, and the proportion of male (56%) was slightly higher than female (44%). Most of the patients (81.7%) had fever on their presentation to the emergency which was followed by fatigue (81.3%) and cough (78.3%). During the post-COVID phase, fatigue was the most common persistent symptom, with 34% experiencing fatigue after 60 days and 28.3% even after 90 days from the onset of symptoms. Univariate logistic regression showed sore throat (OR 4.6; 95% CI (2.8-7.6)), rhinitis (OR 3.6; 95% CI (2.1-5.9)), fatigue (OR 3.7; 95% CI (1.8-7.6)), diarrhea (OR 4.1; 95% CI (2.4-6.9)), anosmia (OR 6.7; 95% CI (3.9-11.3)), ageusia (OR 7.8; 95% CI (4.5-13.4)) and shortness of breath (OR 14.9; 95% CI (1.8-119.6)) at admission were all predictors of post-COVID syndrome after three months.
Conclusion: Even after recovering from COVID-19, people with COVID-19 may develop symptoms. As a result, COVID-19's long-term consequences should not be neglected, as they may lead to increased morbidity among patients, consumption of financial resources, and added burden on the health system.