Abstract
AbstractCOVID-19 can involve persistence, sequelae, and other medical complications that last weeks to months after initial recovery. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify studies assessing the long-term effects of COVID-19. LitCOVID and Embase were searched to identify articles with original data published before the 1st of January 2021, with a minimum of 100 patients. For effects reported in two or more studies, meta-analyses using a random-effects model were performed using the MetaXL software to estimate the pooled prevalence with 95% CI. PRISMA guidelines were followed. A total of 18,251 publications were identified, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of 55 long-term effects was estimated, 21 meta-analyses were performed, and 47,910 patients were included (age 17–87 years). The included studies defined long-COVID as ranging from 14 to 110 days post-viral infection. It was estimated that 80% of the infected patients with SARS-CoV-2 developed one or more long-term symptoms. The five most common symptoms were fatigue (58%), headache (44%), attention disorder (27%), hair loss (25%), and dyspnea (24%). Multi-disciplinary teams are crucial to developing preventive measures, rehabilitation techniques, and clinical management strategies with whole-patient perspectives designed to address long COVID-19 care.
Funder
Houston Methodist Research Institute
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference52 articles.
1. Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Beltekian, D., Mathieu, E., Hasell, J., Macdonald, B., Giattino, C., Appel, C., Rodés-Guirao, L., & Roser, M. Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). (2021).
2. Rubin, R. As their numbers grow, COVID-19 “long haulers” stump experts. JAMA 324, 1381–1383. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.17709 (2020).
3. Tenforde, M. W. et al. Symptom duration and risk factors for delayed return to usual health among outpatients with COVID-19 in a multistate health care systems network—United States, March-June 2020. Morb. Mortal Wkly Rep. 69, 993–998. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6930e1 (2020).
4. Townsend, L. et al. Persistent poor health post-COVID-19 is not associated with respiratory complications or initial disease severity. Ann. Am. Thorac. Soc. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202009-1175OC (2021).
5. Gemelli Against, C.-P.-A.C.S.G. Post-COVID-19 global health strategies: The need for an interdisciplinary approach. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 32, 1613–1620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01616-x (2020).