ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There are emerging data of long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) comprising a diversity of symptoms. The aim of this study was to systematically describe and measure pulmonary and extra-pulmonary post-COVID-19 complications in relation to acute COVID-19 severity. METHODS: Patients attending a standard of care 3â months post-hospitalisation follow-up visit and those referred by their general practitioner because of persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms were included. Patients underwent symptomatic, quality of life, pulmonary (lung function and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT)), cardiac (high-resolution ECG), physical (1-min sit and stand test (1-MSTST), handgrip strength, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)) and cognitive evaluations. RESULTS: All 34 hospitalised and 22 out of 23 non-hospitalised patients had ≥1 complaint or abnormal finding at follow-up. Overall, 67% of patients were symptomatic (Medical Research Council (MRC) ≥2 or COPD assessment test (CAT) ≥10), with no difference between hospitalised versus non-hospitalised patients. Pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1â s (FEV1) or diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (D LCO)) <80% of predicted) was impaired in 68% of patients. D LCO was significantly lower in those hospitalised compared to non-hospitalised (70.1±18.0 versus 80.2±11.2% predicted, p=0.02). Overall, 53% had an abnormal HRCT (predominantly ground-glass opacities) with higher composite computed tomography (CT) scores in hospitalised versus non-hospitalised patients (2.3 (0.1-4.8) and 0.0 (0.0-0.3), p<0.001). 1-MSTST was below the 25th percentile in almost half of patients, but no signs of cardiac dysfunction were found. Cognitive impairments were present in 59-66% of hospitalised and 31-44% of non-hospitalised patients (p=0.08). CONCLUSION: Three months after COVID-19 infection, patients were still symptomatic and demonstrated objective respiratory, functional, radiological and cognitive abnormalities, which were more prominent in hospitalised patients. Our study underlines the importance of multidimensional management strategies in these patients.
Subject(s)
Disease Progression , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/diagnostic imaging , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/therapy , Hashimoto Disease/diagnosis , Lung/pathology , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Bronchoscopy/methods , Combined Modality Therapy , Cough/diagnosis , Cough/etiology , Critical Illness , Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use , Diagnosis, Differential , Dyspnea/diagnosis , Dyspnea/etiology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/etiology , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/pathology , Hashimoto Disease/complications , Humans , Intubation, Intratracheal , Leukocyte Disorders/diagnosis , Leukocyte Disorders/therapy , Middle Aged , Plasmapheresis/methods , Radiography, Thoracic/methods , Rare Diseases , Steroids/therapeutic use , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to compare the developmental outcome of very low birth weight infants with a group of normal-term controls in a tertiary hospital in sub-Saharan Africa. DESIGN: A group of 105 very low birth weight infants were assessed at a mean age of 17.6 months (95% CI 16.7 to 18.6) using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Third Edition, and compared with a group of normal-term controls at the same mean age. RESULTS: Seven of the study infants (7%) had developmental delay (a score below 70), compared with none in the control group (p=0.04). Three of the seven study infants were delayed on all three subscales, one of whom had cerebral palsy. A further 34% of the study infants were 'at risk' of developmental delay (a score below 85). There was no difference in the mean composite score between the study group and controls for the cognitive (p=0.56), motor (p=0.57) or language (p=0.66) subscales. There was no difference in mean composite scores on all subscales between infants who were appropriate for gestational age and those who were small for gestational age. Cognitive and motor scores remained stable in paired assessments of study infants before and after 1 year of age; language scores decreased significantly (p<0.001). Mechanical ventilation was the only risk factor significantly associated with a cognitive score below 85 in study infants. CONCLUSION: Very low birth weight infants in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of developmental delay and require long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up.
