‘Long-COVID’: a cross-sectional study of persisting symptoms, biomarker and imaging abnormalities following hospitalisation for COVID-19
Swapna Mandal, Joseph Barnett, Simon Brill, Jeremy Brown, Emma Denneny, Samanjit S Hare, Melissa Heightman, Toby Hillman, Joseph Jacob, Hannah C. Jarvis, Marc Lipman, SB Naidu, Arjun Nair, Joanna C. Porter, Gillian S. Tomlinson, John R. Hurst
Abstract
Large numbers of people are being discharged from hospital following COVID-19 without assessment of recovery. In 384 patients (mean age 59.9 years; 62% male) followed a median 54 days post discharge, 53% reported persistent breathlessness, 34% cough and 69% fatigue. 14.6% had depression. In those discharged with elevated biomarkers, 30.1% and 9.5% had persistently elevated d-dimer and C reactive protein, respectively. 38% of chest radiographs remained abnormal with 9% deteriorating. Systematic follow-up after hospitalisation with COVID-19 identifies the trajectory of physical and psychological symptom burden, recovery of blood biomarkers and imaging which could be used to inform the need for rehabilitation and/or further investigation.