The predictors of long–COVID in the cohort of Turkish Thoracic Society– TURCOVID multicenter registry: One year follow–up results

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
• Main Authors: Serap Argun Baris, Oya Baydar Toprak, Pelin Duru Cetinkaya, Fusun Fakili, Nurdan Kokturk, Seval Kul, Ozgecan Kayalar, Yildiz Tutuncu, Emel Azak, Mutlu Kuluozturk, Pinar Aysert Yildiz, Pelin Pinar Deniz, Oguz Kilinc, Ilknur Basyigit, Hasim Boyaci, Ismail Hanta, Neslihan Kose, Gulseren Sagcan, Caglar Cuhadaroglu, Hacer Kuzu Okur, Hasan Selcuk Ozger, Begum Ergan, Mehtap Hafizoglu, Abdullah Sayiner, Esra Nurlu Temel, Onder Ozturk, Tansu Ulukavak Ciftci, Ipek Kivilcim Oguzulgen, Vildan Avkan Oguz, Firat Bayraktar, Ozlem Ataoglu, Merve Ercelik, Pinar Yildiz Gulhan, Aysegul Tomruk Erdem, Muge Meltem Tor, Oya Itil, Hasan Bayram
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022
• Subjects: long covid-19; dyspnea; fatigue; comorbidity; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.354422; https://doaj.org/article/06aefebdc930494fa6bc0b21e08ac9e5

Objective: To evaluate long-term effects of COVID-19, and to determine the risk factors in long-COVID in a cohort of the Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS)-TURCOVID multicenter registry. Methods: Thirteen centers participated with 831 patients; 504 patients were enrolled after exclusions. The study was designed in three-steps: (1) Phone questionnaire; (2) retrospective evaluation of the medical records; (3) face-to-face visit. Results: In the first step, 93.5% of the patients were hospitalized; 61.7% had a history of pneumonia at the time of diagnosis. A total of 27.1% reported clinical symptoms at the end of the first year. Dyspnea (17.00%), fatigue (6.30%), and weakness (5.00%) were the most prevalent long-term symptoms. The incidence of long-term symptoms was increased by 2.91 fold (95% CI 1.04-8.13, P=0.041) in the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and by 1.84 fold (95% CI 1.10-3.10, P=0.021) in the presence of pneumonia at initial diagnosis, 3.92 fold (95% Cl 2.29-6.72, P=0.001) of dyspnea and 1.69 fold (95% Cl 1.02-2.80, P=0.040) fatigue persists in the early-post-treatment period and 2.88 fold (95% Cl 1.52- 5.46, P=0.001) in the presence of emergency service admission in the post COVID period. In step 2, retrospective analysis of 231 patients revealed that 1.4% of the chest X-rays had not significantly improved at the end of the first year, while computed tomography (CT) scan detected fibrosis in 3.4%. In step 3, 138 (27.4%) patients admitted to face-to-face visit at the end of first year; at least one symptom persisted in 49.27% patients. The most common symptoms were dyspnea (27.60%), psychiatric symptoms (18.10%), and fatigue (17.40%). Thorax CT revealed fibrosis in 2.4% patients. Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms can last for extended lengths of time, and severity of the disease as well as the presence of comorbidities might contribute to increased risk. Long-term clinical issues should be regularly evaluated after COVID-19.