Persistent symptoms 3 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection: the post-COVID-19 syndrome?

Journal

ERJ open research
ISSN: 2312-0541
Titre abrégé: ERJ Open Res
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101671641

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
Oct 2020
Historique:
received: 30 07 2020
accepted: 13 08 2020
entrez: 1 12 2020
pubmed: 2 12 2020
medline: 2 12 2020
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Many patients with COVID-19 did not require hospitalisation, nor underwent COVID-19 testing. There is anecdotal evidence that patients with "mild" COVID-19 may complain about persistent symptoms, even weeks after the infection. This suggests that symptoms during the infection may not resolve spontaneously. The objective of this study was to assess whether multiple relevant symptoms recover following the onset of symptoms in hospitalised and nonhospitalised patients with COVID-19. A total of 2113 members of two Facebook groups for coronavirus patients with persistent complaints in the Netherlands and Belgium, and from a panel of people who registered on a website of the Lung Foundation Netherlands, were assessed for demographics, pre-existing comorbidities, health status, date of symptoms onset, COVID-19 diagnosis, healthcare utilisation, and the presence of 29 symptoms at the time of the onset of symptoms (retrospectively) and at follow-up (mean±sd 79±17 days after symptoms onset). Overall, 112 hospitalised patients and 2001 nonhospitalised patients (confirmed COVID-19, n=345; symptom-based COVID-19, n=882; and suspected COVID-19, n=774) were analysed. The median number of symptoms during the infection reduced significantly over time (median (interquartile range) 14 (11-17) In previously hospitalised and nonhospitalised patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, multiple symptoms are present about 3 months after symptoms onset. This suggests the presence of a "post-COVID-19 syndrome" and highlights the unmet healthcare needs in a subgroup of patients with "mild" or "severe" COVID-19.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Many patients with COVID-19 did not require hospitalisation, nor underwent COVID-19 testing. There is anecdotal evidence that patients with "mild" COVID-19 may complain about persistent symptoms, even weeks after the infection. This suggests that symptoms during the infection may not resolve spontaneously. The objective of this study was to assess whether multiple relevant symptoms recover following the onset of symptoms in hospitalised and nonhospitalised patients with COVID-19.
METHODS METHODS
A total of 2113 members of two Facebook groups for coronavirus patients with persistent complaints in the Netherlands and Belgium, and from a panel of people who registered on a website of the Lung Foundation Netherlands, were assessed for demographics, pre-existing comorbidities, health status, date of symptoms onset, COVID-19 diagnosis, healthcare utilisation, and the presence of 29 symptoms at the time of the onset of symptoms (retrospectively) and at follow-up (mean±sd 79±17 days after symptoms onset).
RESULTS RESULTS
Overall, 112 hospitalised patients and 2001 nonhospitalised patients (confirmed COVID-19, n=345; symptom-based COVID-19, n=882; and suspected COVID-19, n=774) were analysed. The median number of symptoms during the infection reduced significantly over time (median (interquartile range) 14 (11-17)
CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS
In previously hospitalised and nonhospitalised patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, multiple symptoms are present about 3 months after symptoms onset. This suggests the presence of a "post-COVID-19 syndrome" and highlights the unmet healthcare needs in a subgroup of patients with "mild" or "severe" COVID-19.

Identifiants

DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00542-2020 PMID: 33257910 PMC: PMC7491255
pubmed: 33257910
doi: 10.1183/23120541.00542-2020
pii: 00542-2020
pmc: PMC7491255
pii:
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Informations de copyright

Copyright ©ERS 2020.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Conflict of interest: Y.M.J. Goërtz has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: M. Van Herck has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: J.M. Delbressine has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: A.W. Vaes has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: R. Meys has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: F.V.C. Machado has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: S. Houben-Wilke has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: C. Burtin has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: R. Posthuma has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: F.M.E. Franssen reports personal fees from GlaxoSmithKline, Chiesi and Boehringer Inghelheim, grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca and Novartis, and personal fees from TEVA, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: N. van Loon has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: B. Hajian has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Y. Spies has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: H. Vijlbrief has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: A.J. van ’t Hul has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: D.J.A. Janssen reports speaker fees from Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: M.A. Spruit reports grants from Lung Foundation Netherlands and Stichting Astma Bestrijding, and grants and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work.

Références

Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2142-7
pubmed: 20008700
N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 30;382(18):1708-1720
pubmed: 32109013
Lancet. 2020 Aug 1;396(10247):313-319
pubmed: 32534626
Spinal Cord. 2001 May;39(5):243-51
pubmed: 11438839
Nurs Crit Care. 2017 Jul;22(4):212-220
pubmed: 25688675
JAMA. 2020 Aug 11;324(6):603-605
pubmed: 32644129
BMJ. 2020 May 22;369:m1966
pubmed: 32444366
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013 Oct 15;188(8):e13-64
pubmed: 24127811
J Med Virol. 2020 Jun;92(6):577-583
pubmed: 32162702
J Intern Med. 2020 Sep;288(3):335-344
pubmed: 32352202
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2005 Feb;29(2):173-84
pubmed: 15733809
Occup Med (Lond). 2005 Jan;55(1):32-9
pubmed: 15699088
Science. 2020 May 1;368(6490):489-493
pubmed: 32179701
N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 29;383(18):1757-1766
pubmed: 32329974
PLoS One. 2019 Feb 4;14(2):e0211532
pubmed: 30716129
Eur Respir J. 2020 Jun 25;55(6):
pubmed: 32586841
BMJ. 2020 Jul 21;370:m2912
pubmed: 32694164
BMC Neurol. 2011 Mar 24;11:37
pubmed: 21435231
BMJ. 2020 May 22;369:m1985
pubmed: 32444460

Auteurs

Yvonne M J Goërtz (YMJ)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
These authors contributed equally.

Maarten Van Herck (M)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
REVAL - Rehabilitation Research Center, BIOMED - Biomedical Research Institute, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
These authors contributed equally.

Jeannet M Delbressine (JM)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.

Anouk W Vaes (AW)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0002-4136-1553

Roy Meys (R)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Felipe V C Machado (FVC)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Sarah Houben-Wilke (S)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.

Chris Burtin (C)

REVAL - Rehabilitation Research Center, BIOMED - Biomedical Research Institute, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.

Rein Posthuma (R)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0003-0015-0116

Frits M E Franssen (FME)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0002-1633-6356

Nicole van Loon (N)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Dept of Internal Medicine, MUMC+, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Bita Hajian (B)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0003-0453-968X

Yvonne Spies (Y)

Lung Foundation Netherlands, Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Herman Vijlbrief (H)

Lung Foundation Netherlands, Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Alex J van 't Hul (AJ)

Dept of Pulmonary Disease, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0002-5514-2327

Daisy J A Janssen (DJA)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Dept of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
ORCID: 0000-0002-1827-9869

Martijn A Spruit (MA)

Dept of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands.
Nutrim School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.
REVAL - Rehabilitation Research Center, BIOMED - Biomedical Research Institute, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
ORCID: 0000-0003-3822-7430

Classifications MeSH