Persistent Post-COVID-19 Syndrome in Hemodialyzed Patients—A Longitudinal Cohort Study from the North of Poland

Abstract

Background: After recovery from COVID-19, patients frequently face so-called “Post-COVID-19 Syndrome” defined by clusters of persistent symptoms lasting for >12 weeks which may arise from any system in the body. The long-term health consequences of COVID-19 in maintenance hemodialyzed (HD) patients remain to be investigated. Methods: In this longitudinal cohort study we described the health consequences in HD patients requiring hospitalization due to COVID-19. They were interviewed three and six months (M3 and M6) after discharge with a series of standardized questionnaires. Results: Of 144 HD patients discharged from the 7th Naval Hospital in Gdansk, 79 participants were enrolled, 39 m (49.4%) and 40 f (50.6%) with a median age of 70.0 (64.0–76.5) and an HD vintage of 40 months (17.5–88). After discharge, 93.7% and 81% reported at least one persistent symptom at M3 and M6, respectively. The most common symptoms were fatigue or muscle weakness (60.76% and 47.04%) and palpitations (40.51% and 30.14%). Dyspnea with an mMRC scale grade of at least 1 was reported by 21.5% before infection, and by 43.03% and 34.25% at M3 and M6, respectively. A decrease in the quality of life was reported in all domains of the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire but mainly in the pain/discomfort and anxiety dimensions. Mean EQ-VAS scores were 69.05, 61.58 and 64.38, respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that HD patients may still experience persistent symptoms six months after recovery from COVID-19, which can further reduce their already poor health-related quality of life. This study highlights the need for long-term follow-up on these patients for diagnostic and rehabilitation programs.