Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 22:9:834354.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.834354. eCollection 2022.

Patient-Reported Symptoms and Sequelae 12 Months After COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults: A Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study

Agnese Comelli  1 , Giulia Viero  2 , Greta Bettini  2 , Alessandro Nobili  3 , Mauro Tettamanti  3 , Alessia Antonella Galbussera  3 , Antonio Muscatello  1 , Marco Mantero  2   4 , Ciro Canetta  5 , Filippo Martinelli Boneschi  2   6   7 , Andrea Arighi  6 , Paolo Brambilla  2   7 , Maurizio Vecchi  2   8 , Pietro Lampertico  2   9 , Paolo Bonfanti  10 , Marco Contoli  11 , Francesco Blasi  2   4 , Andrea Gori  1   2 , Alessandra Bandera  1   2
Affiliations

Patient-Reported Symptoms and Sequelae 12 Months After COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults: A Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study

Agnese Comelli et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Objective: Our knowledge on the long-term consequences of COVID-19 is still scarce despite the clinical relevance of persisting syndrome. The aim of this study was to analyze patient-reported outcomes, including assessment by specific questionnaires of health impairment and symptoms.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational and multicenter cohort study coordinated by Fondazione IRCSS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano and Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS including eight hospitals located in North and Central Italy. A telephone interview to assess rehospitalization, access to health care resources, general health status subjective evaluation, and symptoms was performed at 12 months after the discharge in patients admitted to hospital because of COVID-19 from February 2020 to the end of May 2020.

Results: Among the 776 patients discharged alive, 44 (5.7%) died, 456 subjects (58.8%) completed the questionnaire and 276 (35.6%) were not reachable or refused to join the telephone interview. The mean age of the study population was 59.4 years (SD 14.1), 69.8% of individuals needed oxygen support during hospitalization and 10.4% were admitted to ICU. Overall, 91.7% of participants reported at least one symptom/sequela at 12 months. Exertional dyspnea (71.7%), fatigue (54.6%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (32.8%) were the most reported ones. Health issues after discharge including hospitalization or access to emergency room were described by 19.4% of subjects. Female and presence of comorbidities were independent predictors of whealth impairment and presence of ≥2 symptoms/sequelae after 12 months from hospitalization for COVID-19.

Conclusions: Patient-reported symptoms and sequelae, principally dyspnea and fatigue, are found in most individuals even 12 months from COVID-19 hospitalization. Long-term follow-up based on patient-centered outcome can contribute to plan tailored interventions.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; dyspnea; long COVID-19; long-term sequelae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of patients with COVID-19 discharged between the pandemic beginning and May 31st, 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
COVID-19-related symptoms during the acute phase of illness (on the left) and at 12-months follow-up (on the right).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Patient factors associated with ≥2 sequelae or persistent symptoms during the 12 months after hospital discharge in surviving patients.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Patient factors associated with health status difference after 12 months—before COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cortinovis M, Perico N, Remuzzi G. Long-term follow-up of recovered patients with COVID-19. Lancet. (2021) 397:173–5. 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00039-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . A Clinical Case Definition of Post COVID- 19 Condition by a Delphi Consensus. Geneva: World Health Organization; (2021). Available online at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_cond... (accessed November 25, 2021).
    1. The Lancet . Facing up to long COVID. Lancet. (2020) 396:1861. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32662-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seeßle J, Waterboer T, Hippchen T, Simon J, Kirchner M, Lim A, et al. . Persistent symptoms in adult patients 1 year after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a prospective cohort study. Clin Infect Dis. (2021) ciab611. 10.1093/cid/ciab611 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xiong Q, Xu M, Li J, Liu Y, Zhang J, Xu Y, et al. . Clinical sequelae of COVID-19 survivors in Wuhan, China: a single-centre longitudinal study. Clin Microbiol Infect. (2021) 27:89–95. 10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.023 - DOI - PMC - PubMed