Complications Linked to Acute COVID-19 Phase during its Second Wave Era

Abstract

Numerous global studies have documented the multi-systemic complications associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, there is a scarcity of research exploring SARS-CoV-2-related complications in Libya, specifically in Zawia city. Therefore, this study aimed to screen and identify complications of acute COVID-19 in 176 SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in Zawia city, Libya. As part of a past retrospective cohort study, 176 randomly selected volunteers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between December 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, in Zawia city participated in this research. Participants completed a questionnaire designed for COVID-19 patients, and the collected data were analyzed to achieve the objectives of this study. In the current study, we found that 73.9% of the COVID-19 patients were mild to moderate cases, while 26.1% were severe cases. Moreover, our recent research revealed that 90.9% of the COVID-19 patients experienced complications during the acute phase of the disease. The reported complications during this phase included psychological disorders (90%), pneumonia (35.6%), brain fog (19.4%), multi-joint pain (18.8%), hearing deficit (8.1%), acute respiratory failure (5.6%), acute cardiac injury (3.8%), thrombotic lesions (1.9%), and vision impairment (1.9%). Overall, our findings indicate that most of COVID-19 participants had mild to moderate disease, with approximately one quarter experiencing severe illness. Furthermore, the vast majority of patients had complications during the acute COVID-19 phase, with psychological disorders being the most commonly reported, followed by pneumonia. While rare, fatal complications such as acute respiratory failure, acute cardiac injury, and thrombotic lesions were observed in some participants.