Post COVID syndrome: A Prospective study in tertiary hospital of Nepal.

Thesis Report.

SUMMARY:

Introduction: The post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome is defined as the persistence of symptoms after viral clearance, as well as the emergence of new symptoms after few months following recovery from COVID-19. The goal of this study was to know prevalence of the post-COVID-19 syndrome, as well as the risk factors that contribute to its development.

Methods: This study was conducted prospectively in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) located in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. The patients were followed-up for three months. Ethical approval for conducting the study was taken from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of TUTH, IOM. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS v21.

Results: The 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 em ergency which was followed by fatigue (81.3%) and cough (78.3%). During the postCOVID 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 4.61; 95% CI (2.87.6)), rhinitis (OR 3.55; 95% CI (2.1-5.9)), fatigue (OR 3.65; 95% CI (1.76-7.56)), diarrhea (OR 4.11; 95% CI (2.42-6.9)), anosmia (OR 6.685; 95% CI (3.941-11.343)), aguesia (OR 7.769; 95% CI (4.51-13.382)) and shortness of breath (OR 14.945; 95% CI (1.8-119.57)) at admission were all predictors of post-COVID syndrome after three months.

Conclusion: Even 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 increased health system burden.