tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
PLoS One
. 2021 Dec 8;16(12):e0260259.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260259. eCollection 2021.
COVID-19: Post-recovery long-term symptoms among patients in Saudi Arabia
Mostafa M Khodeir[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hassan A Shabana[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zafar Rasheed[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Abdullah S Alkhamiss[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohamed Khodeir[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Mohammad S Alkhowailed[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sami Alharbi[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Mansour Alsoghair[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Suliman A Alsagaby[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Waleed Al Abdulmonem[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: After recovery from acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many patients experience long-term symptoms in different body systems. The aim of the present study was to identify these symptoms, their severity, and their duration as a first step in building a system to classify post-recovery long-term symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was administered between September and October 2020. Data regarding the severity of post-recovery symptoms and their duration were collected using an Arabic questionnaire divided into six categories encompassing the 20 most prevalent symptoms.
Results: A total of 979 patients recovered from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia in the study period, of whom 53% were male and 47% were female. The most common symptoms included general fatigue and weakness (73% each), with moderate severity of neurological symptoms including mood changes (41%) and insomnia (39%). Among the special senses, loss of smell and taste of marked severity were reported by 64% and 55% among respiratory symptoms, cough of mild severity (47%), and dyspnea of moderate severity (43%). Loss of appetite of moderate severity was reported in 42%, and diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea of mild severity were reported by 53%, 50%, and 44% of respondents, respectively.
Conclusions: Long-term symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 warrant patient follow-up. The authors propose a classification system as a starting point to guide the identification and follow-up of long-term symptoms post-recovery, and recommend larger-scale studies to broaden the definition of recovery from COVID-19, which appears to have two phases, acute and chronic.
. 2021 Dec 8;16(12):e0260259.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260259. eCollection 2021.
COVID-19: Post-recovery long-term symptoms among patients in Saudi Arabia
Mostafa M Khodeir[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hassan A Shabana[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zafar Rasheed[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Abdullah S Alkhamiss[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohamed Khodeir[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Mohammad S Alkhowailed[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sami Alharbi[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Mansour Alsoghair[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Suliman A Alsagaby[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Waleed Al Abdulmonem[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34879074
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260259
Abstract
Background: After recovery from acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many patients experience long-term symptoms in different body systems. The aim of the present study was to identify these symptoms, their severity, and their duration as a first step in building a system to classify post-recovery long-term symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was administered between September and October 2020. Data regarding the severity of post-recovery symptoms and their duration were collected using an Arabic questionnaire divided into six categories encompassing the 20 most prevalent symptoms.
Results: A total of 979 patients recovered from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia in the study period, of whom 53% were male and 47% were female. The most common symptoms included general fatigue and weakness (73% each), with moderate severity of neurological symptoms including mood changes (41%) and insomnia (39%). Among the special senses, loss of smell and taste of marked severity were reported by 64% and 55% among respiratory symptoms, cough of mild severity (47%), and dyspnea of moderate severity (43%). Loss of appetite of moderate severity was reported in 42%, and diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea of mild severity were reported by 53%, 50%, and 44% of respondents, respectively.
Conclusions: Long-term symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 warrant patient follow-up. The authors propose a classification system as a starting point to guide the identification and follow-up of long-term symptoms post-recovery, and recommend larger-scale studies to broaden the definition of recovery from COVID-19, which appears to have two phases, acute and chronic.
