Assessment of Post-Covid Symptoms in Covid-19 Recovered Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study in a Tertiary Care Centre of South India

Background: The post-Covid symptoms among patients hospitalised with covid has to be determined for elucidating the spectrum of illness which persists even after the apparent recovery. The understanding of the post-Covid symptoms will help us to better manage aftermath of the pandemic.Aim: To determine the incidence of post-Covid symptoms in a cohort of inpatients who recovered from COVID-19 from a tertiary care centre in South India.Method: 120 survivors from patients admitted with COVID 19 were prospectively followed up for 6 weeks after their discharge from the hospital. The cohort included 50 patients requiring Intensive care unit (ICU) care and 70 ward patients. The follow-up was conducted on the second and sixth week after discharge with a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled by the patient/bystanders during their visit to the hospital for follow-up at 2 weeks and through telephone follow up at 6 weeks.Results: Mean age of the cohort was 55 years and 55% were males. 58.3% had mild covid and 41.7% had moderate to severe covid infection. 60.8% (n=73) of patients had at least one persistent symptom at sixth week of discharge. 50 (41.7%) patients required intensive care during their inpatient stay. Presence of persistent symptoms at 6 weeks was not associated with severity of illness, age or requirement for intensive care. Fatigue was the most common reported persistent symptom with a prevalence of 55.8% followed by weight loss (22.5%) and dyspnoea (20%). Female sex (OR 2.4, 95% CI: 1.03–5.58, p = 0.041) and steroid administration during hospital stay (OR: 4.43; 95% CI: 1.9–10.28, p = 0.001), were found to be significant risk factors for the presence of post-Covid symptoms at 6 weeks as revealed by logistic regression analysis.Conclusion: 60.8% of inpatients treated for covid had post-Covid symptoms at 6 weeks post- discharge from hospital. Female sex and steroid administration during hospital stay were identified as predictors of persistence of post-Covid symptoms at 6weeks.

Barriers to and Facilitators for Optimal Intervention for Apathy in Older Adults With Dementia

Apathy is a persistent symptom in brain disorders. It affects 84% of people with brain disorders. Those affected are more than two times likely to die early than those without. Yet it is often ignored and undertreated. An integrative review guided by Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) framework was carried out to identify the factors that inhibit or facilitate the diagnosis and management of apathy among older adults with dementia. The result of the findings revealed five barriers and three facilitators. Barriers included inconsistencies in the definition and diagnostic criteria, lack of awareness, overlap with other neuropsychiatric disorders, a paucity of evidence-based information, and lack of familiarity. Facilitators were standardized definition and assessment tools, good communication among the interdisciplinary team, and adequate training, education, and experience. In conclusion, efforts should be geared towards raising awareness and developing a practice guideline to aid healthcare professionals in detecting and managing apathy optimally.

Comparison of Persistent Symptoms After COVID-19 and Other Non-SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Children

Introduction: The data on long COVID in children is scarce since children and adolescents are typically less severely affected by acute COVID-19. This study aimed to identify the long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, and to compare the persistent symptom spectrum between COVID-19 and community-acquired infections of other etiologies.Methods: This was an ambidirectional cohort study conducted at the Children's Clinical University Hospital in Latvia. The study population of pediatric COVID-19 patients and children with other non-SARS-CoV-2-community-acquired infections were invited to participate between July 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021.Results: In total, 236 pediatric COVID-19 patients were enrolled in the study. Additionally, 142 comparison group patients were also enrolled. Median follow-up time from acute symptom onset was 73.5 days (IQR; 43–110 days) in the COVID-19 patient group and 69 days (IQR, 58–84 days) in the comparison group. Most pediatric COVID-19 survivors (70%, N = 152) reported at least one persistent symptom, but more than half of the patients (53%, N = 117) noted two or more long-lasting symptoms. The most commonly reported complaints among COVID-19 patients included persistent fatigue (25.2%), cognitive sequelae, such as irritability (24.3%), and mood changes (23.3%), as well as headaches (16.9%), rhinorrhea (16.1%), coughing (14.4%), and anosmia/dysgeusia (12.3%). In addition, 105 (44.5%) COVID patients had persistent symptoms after the 12-week cut-off point, with irritability (27.6%, N = 29), mood changes (26.7%, N = 28), and fatigue (19.2%, N = 20) being the most commonly reported ones. Differences in symptom spectrum among the various age groups were seen. Logistic regression analysis showed that long-term persistent symptoms as fever, fatigue, rhinorrhea, loss of taste and/or smell, headaches, cognitive sequelae, and nocturnal sweating were significantly associated with the COVID-19 experience when compared with the controls.Conclusions: We found that at the time of interview almost three-quarters of children reported at least one persistent symptom, but the majority of patients (53%) had two or more concurrent symptoms. The comparison group's inclusion in the study allowed us to identify that symptom persistence is more apparent with COVID-19 than any other non-SARS-CoV-2 infection. More research is needed to distinguish the symptoms of long COVID from pandemic-associated complaints. Each persistent symptom is important in terms of child well-being during COVID-19 recovery.

COVEVOL: Natural Evolution at 6 Months of COVID-19

Many studies have investigated post-COVID symptoms, but the predictors of symptom persistence remain unknown. The objective was to describe the natural course of the disease at 6 months and to identify possible factors favoring the resurgence or persistence of these symptoms. COVEVOL is a retrospective observational descriptive study of 74 patients. All patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR from March 2020 were included. We compared a group with symptom persistence (PS group) with another group without symptom persistence (no-PS group). Fifty-three out of seventy-four patients (71.62%) described at least one persistent symptom at 6 months of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the PS group, 56.6% were women and the average age was 54.7 years old [21-89.2] ±16.9. The main symptoms were asthenia (56.6%, n = 30), dyspnea (34%, n = 18), anxiety (32.1% n = 17), anosmia (24.5%, n = 13) and agueusia (15.1% n = 8). Ten patients (13.51%) presented a resurgence in symptoms. Patients in the PS group were older (p = 0.0048), had a higher BMI (p = 0.0071), and were more frequently hospitalized (p = 0.0359) compared to the no-PS group. Odynophagia and nasal obstruction were less present in the inaugural symptoms of COVID-19 in the PS group (p = 0.0202 and p = 0.0332). Persistent post-COVID syndromes are common and identification of contributing factors is necessary for understanding this phenomenon and appropriate management.

Post-Acute-COVID-19-Illness Pulmonary Sequelae

Pulmonary function abnormalities in post-acute-COVID-19-illness survivors could be due to a decrease in both diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon dioxide (DLCO) and transfer coefficient of the lung for carbon monoxide (KCO) [1]. Alveolar-capillary damage, microvascular pathological lesions, or anemia can contribute to reduction of the KCO [1]. Post-acute-COVID-19-illness pulmonary fibrosis and post-acute-MERS-associated pulmonary fibrosis were highly associated with old aging ranging from 60- to 70-years age group (13 out of 30 (43.3 %)), demonstrated by Wong et al and Das et al [2, 3]. Post-acute-COVID-19-illness pulmonary fibrosis was 1.3 times more predominant in males, compared to females, possibly explained by the effect of androgen that promotes the transcription of transmembrane protease serine 2 gene, and was much higher incidence in cigarette smoker (18 of 30 patients (60 %)), compared to non-smoking patients [4, 5]. This gene impairs hose’s antibody response and facilitates the fusion of the virus-hose cells [4]. Dyspnea, the most common persistent symptom of the pulmonary sequelae ranged from 42 % to 66 % prevalence at 60-100 days of following-up [6-9], supported by the result of lower median 6-minutes walking distance comparing to the normal reference values in one-fourth of the patients at 6 months in the post-acute-COVID-19-illlness Chinese study that was similar to the prevalence in SARS and MERS survivors [10, 11].

Recalcitrant Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Complications and failures after carpal tunnel release have been reported from 3% to 25%. And the revision surgeries usually show poorer outcomes than the primary surgeries. There are diverse etiologies causing neuropathic symptoms after the carpal tunnel release, which became a clinical challenge. Potential causes of the symptoms are categorized into three by those natures; persistent symptom, recurrent symptom, and new symptom. The decision of proper management should be based on the etiologies of reproduced symptoms. This article described an overview of the clinical presentation, etiologies, diagnosis, and treatments of the recalcitrant carpal tunnel syndrome.

Post discharge persistent symptoms after COVID-19 in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVESTo describe persistent symptoms and consequences in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) discharged from the hospital after Covid-19; to assess the roll of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) compared to and non-autoimmune rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (NARD) on persistent symptoms and consequences.METHODSWe performed a cross-sectional observational study. RMD attended at a rheumatology outpatient clinic in Madrid with Covid-19 that required hospital admission were included. The main outcomes were persistence of symptoms and health consequences related to Covid19 after discharge. Independent variable was RMD group (ARD and NARD) and covariates were sociodemographic, clinical, and treatments. We ran a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the risk by RMD group on main outcomes.RESULTSWe included 105 patients and 51.5% had ARD. 68.57% reported at least one persistent symptom. The most frequent were dyspnea, fatigue, and chest pain. 31 patients had consequences. Lung damage was found in 11.4% of the patients, 18% had blood test abnormalities (10% lymphopenia), two died, one developed central retinal vein occlusion and one patient developed optic neuritis. 11 patients required readmission due to Covid-19 problems (16.7% ARD vs 3.9% NARD; p=0.053). No statistically significant differences by RMD groups were found in the final models.CONCLUSIONMany RMD patients have persistent symptoms, similar to other populations. This study also highlights that lung damage is the most frequent consequence. ARD compared to NARD does not seem to differ in terms of persistent symptoms or consequences, although ARD might have a greater number of readmissions due to Covid-19.

Juvenile Dermatomyositis: New Clues to Diagnosis and Therapy

Purpose of review To identify clues to disease activity and discuss therapy options. Recent findings The diagnostic evaluation includes documenting symmetrical proximal muscle damage by exam and MRI, as well as elevated muscle enzymes—aldolase, creatine phosphokinase, LDH, and SGOT—which often normalize with a longer duration of untreated disease. Ultrasound identifies persistent, occult muscle inflammation. The myositis-specific antibodies (MSA) and myositis-associated antibodies (MAA) are associated with specific disease course variations. Anti-NXP-2 is found in younger children and is associated with calcinosis; anti-TIF-1γ+ juvenile dermatomyositis has a longer disease course. The diagnostic rash—involving the eyelids, hands, knees, face, and upper chest—is the most persistent symptom and is associated with microvascular compromise, reflected by loss of nailfold (periungual) end row capillaries. This loss is associated with decreased bioavailability of oral prednisone; the bioavailability of other orally administered medications should also be considered. At diagnosis, at least 3 days of intravenous methyl prednisolone may help control the HLA-restricted and type 1/2 interferon–driven inflammatory process. The requirement for avoidance of ultraviolet light exposure mandates vitamin D supplementation. Summary This often chronic illness targets the cardiovascular system; mortality has decreased from 30 to 1–2% with corticosteroids. New serological biomarkers indicate occult inflammation: ↑CXCL-10 predicts a longer disease course. Some biologic therapies appear promising.

Clinical and laboratory follow-up after hospitalization for COVID-19 at an Italian tertiary care center

We evaluated 100 post-acute COVID-19 patients, a median of 60 days (IQR 48-67) after discharge from the Careggi University Hospital, Italy. Eighty-four (84%) had at least one persistent symptom, irrespective of COVID-19 severity. A considerable number of hospital re-admission (10%) and/or infectious diseases (14%) during the post-discharge period was reported.

Headache: A striking prodromal and persistent symptom, predictive of COVID-19 clinical evolution

Objective To define headache characteristics and evolution in relation to COVID-19 and its inflammatory response. Methods This is a prospective study, comparing clinical data and inflammatory biomarkers of COVID-19 patients with and without headache, recruited at the Emergency Room. We compared baseline with 6-week follow-up to evaluate disease evolution. Results Of 130 patients, 74.6% (97/130) had headache. In all, 24.7% (24/97) of patients had severe pain with migraine-like features. Patients with headache had more anosmia/ageusia (54.6% vs. 18.2%; p < 0.0001). Clinical duration of COVID-19 was shorter in the headache group (23.9 ± 11.6 vs. 31.2 ± 12.0 days; p = 0.028). In the headache group, IL-6 levels were lower at the ER (22.9 (57.5) vs. 57.0 (78.6) pg/mL; p = 0.036) and more stable during hospitalisation. After 6 weeks, of 74 followed-up patients with headache, 37.8% (28/74) had ongoing headache. Of these, 50% (14/28) had no previous headache history. Headache was the prodromal symptom of COVID-19 in 21.4% (6/28) of patients with persistent headache ( p = 0.010). Conclusions Headache associated with COVID-19 is a frequent symptom, predictive of a shorter COVID-19 clinical course. Disabling headache can persist after COVID-19 resolution. Pathophysiologically, its migraine-like features may reflect an activation of the trigeminovascular system by inflammation or direct involvement of SARS-CoV-2, a hypothesis supported by concomitant anosmia.