Clinical features of post-acute COVID-19 infection can manifest even after 60 days of initial infection.
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Prolonged symptoms and signs are being reported in observational studies and case reports every day. Although such symptoms are usually experienced in survivors of critical illness, the post-acute effects of COVID-19 are equally being reported in patients with mild severity of disease who do not require hospitalization.
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Necessary future research includes stratification of these post-acute effects with gender, age, and comorbid conditions in acute, subacute, and chronic phases of the disease.
Abstract
Objective
This systematic review aimed at estimating the prevalence of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms in view of published literature that studied prolonged clinical manifestations after recovery from acute COVID-19 infection.
Methods
Relevant databases were searched for extraction of articles. For data synthesis, based on the distribution of quantitative variables, they were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR). Qualitative variables were presented as frequency (n) and percentages (%).
Results
Twenty-one articles qualified for the final analysis. The most common persistent clinical manifestations were fatigue (54.11%), dyspnea (24.38%), alopecia (23.21%), hyperhidrosis (23.6%), insomnia (25.98%), anxiety (17.29%), and arthralgia (16.35%). In addition to these symptoms, new-onset hypertension, diabetes, neuropsychiatric disorders, and bladder incontinence were also reported.
Conclusion
Clinical features of post-acute COVID-19 infection can manifest even after 60 days of initial infection. Multidisciplinary care along with regular follow-up must be provided to such patients.