Assessment of Post-Covid Symptoms in Covid-19 Recovered Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study in a Tertiary Care Centre of South India.

The post-Covid symptoms among patients hospitalised with covid has to be determined for elucidating the spectrum of illness which persists even after the apparent recovery. The understanding of the post-Covid symptoms will help us to better manage aftermath of the pandemic. Our aim is to determine the incidence of post-Covid symptoms in a cohort of inpatients who recovered from COVID-19 from a tertiary care centre in South India. MATERIAL: 120 survivors from patients admitted with COVID 19 were prospectively followed up for 6 weeks after their discharge from the hospital. The cohort included 50 patients requiring Intensive care unit (ICU) care and 70 ward patients. The follow-up was conducted on the second and sixth week after discharge with a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled by the patient/ bystanders during their visit to the hospital for follow-up at 2 weeks and through telephone follow up at 6 weeks. OBSERVATION: Mean age of the cohort was 55 years and 55% were males. 58.3% had mild covid and 41.7% had moderate to severe covid infection. 60.8% (n=73) of patients had at least one persistent symptom at sixth week of discharge. 50 (41.7%) patients required intensive care during their inpatient stay. Presence of persistent symptoms at 6 weeks was not associated with severity of illness, age or requirement for intensive care. Fatigue was the most common reported persistent symptom with a prevalence of 55.8% followed by weight loss (22.5%) and dyspnoea (20%). Female sex (OR 2.4, 95% CI: 1.03-5.58, p = 0.041) and steroid administration during hospital stay (OR: 4.43; 95% CI: 1.9-10.28, p = 0.001), were found to be significant risk factors for the presence of post-Covid symptoms at 6 weeks as revealed by logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: 60.8% of inpatients treated for covid had post-Covid symptoms at 6 weeks post- discharge from hospital. Female sex and steroid administration during hospital stay were identified as predictors of persistence of post-Covid symptoms at 6weeks.

Effectiveness of Framingham and ASCVD Risk Scores in Predicting Coronary Artery Disease - A Comparative Study with Syntax Score.

OBJECTIVES: Primary objective was to determine an association between Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) and Framingham (FRS) risk scores with Syntax score(SS). Secondary objective was to determine sensitivity, specificity and discriminative ability of FRS and ASCVD risk scores in detecting Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and predicting its severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in the Comprehensive Health Clinic of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala. Patients voluntarily visiting the clinic for a health check-up were referred to Cardiology based on a positive treadmill test result where they underwent a coronary angiogram. Secondary data on patients' demographics, prior history of cardiovascular diseases, investigations and interventional procedures was collected from the hospital registry. The risk scores were calculated using the data through online calculators. Analysis was carried out using SPSS. RESULTS: Chi-square analysis showed significant association between FRS and SS. Both FRS and ASCVD risk scores have good sensitivity for CAD while having good specificity for patients with high Syntax score (SS≥33). ROC curve showed that ASCVD risk score has a higher positive likelihood ratio than FRS for predicting CAD and high Syntax Score Patients. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that FRS and ASCVD risk scores are effective risk predicting models for CAD. FRS is a more sensitive risk score than ASCVD risk score in predicting CAD whereas ASCVD risk score has a higher ability to differentiate patients with CAD and high Syntax Score than FRS.