PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Post-COVID syndrome: A prospective study in a tertiary hospital of Nepal.

  • Sangam Shah,
  • Shreeyash Raj Bhattarai,
  • Kriti Basnet,
  • Yagya Raj Adhikari,
  • Tara Ballav Adhikari,
  • Nikita Bhatta,
  • Rajan Chamlagain,
  • Susan Aryal,
  • Sanjit Kumar Sah,
  • Govinda Bhandari,
  • Bibek Bhandari,
  • Sujan Poudel,
  • Pankaj Pant,
  • Santa Kumar Das

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272636
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 8
p. e0272636

Abstract

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IntroductionThe 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.MethodsThis study was conducted prospectively in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), located in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. The patients were followed up for three months.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionEven 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.