Clinical Manifestations and Sequelae of COVID-19 in First and Second Wave among Nursing Officers of a Tertiary Care Centre, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Introduction: There are lot of challenges involved in studying the multiorgan manifestations and sequelae of acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), that too in face of fighting the pandemic, which has led to fall short of resources and restriction in activities for prevention of transmission. The literature on persisting manifestations and sequelae of COVID-19 in the patients recovered in the first and second waves is scarce. Aim: To study the presenting and persistent manifestations after acute COVID-19 illness in first and second wave among Nursing Officers (NOs) of a tertiary care Medical Institute. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, from 15th May 2021 to 31st October 2021. Total 103 nurses, who had recovered after testing positive for COVID-19 in the first and second wave were followed-up for persisting symptoms. Statistical analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square test. Results: Total of 103 subjects were recruited in the study, 36 in the first wave and 67 in the second. Fever (72.82%), bodyache (67.96%) and fatigue (66.99%) were found to be the most common presenting manifestations in the study subjects having mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. Bodyache (p-value=0.048), headache (p-value=0.044) and fatigue (p-value=0.025) were seen in significantly more subjects in second wave as compared to first wave. Persistence of symptoms for more than four weeks was seen in 45.63% subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between persisting symptoms in the two waves, except sleep disturbances which were found to be persisting in significantly more subjects in second wave than those in first wave. Conclusion: The data of current study will add to the literature of presenting signs and sequelae of coronavirus, and pave the way for more elaborate and multispecialty studies for enhanced understanding of the disease.

Keywords

• bodyache
• coronavirus disease 2019
• fever
• headache
• sleep disturbance