More than 50 Long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Prerint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.27.21250617
Sandra Lopez-Leon, Talia Wegman-Ostrosky, Carol Perelman, Rosalinda Sepulveda, Paulina A Rebolledo, Angelica Cuapio, Sonia Villapol
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, can involve sequelae and other medical complications that last weeks to months after initial recovery, which has come to be called Long-COVID or COVID long-haulers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify studies assessing long-term effects of COVID-19 and estimates the prevalence of each symptom, sign, or laboratory parameter of patients at a post-COVID-19 stage. LitCOVID (PubMed and Medline) and Embase were searched by two independent researchers. All articles with original data for detecting long-term COVID-19 published before 1st of January 2021 and with a minimum of 100 patients were included. 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. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviewers and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) reporting guideline was 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. The follow-up time ranged from 15 to 110 days post-viral infection. The age of the study participants ranged between 17 and 87 years.
It was estimated that 80% (95% CI 65-92) of the patients that were infected 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%). [difficult or labored breathing]
All meta-analyses showed medium (n=2) to high heterogeneity (n=13). In order to have a better understanding, future studies need to stratify by
- sex,
- age,
- previous comorbidities,
- severity of COVID-19 (ranging from asymptomatic to severe), and
- duration of each symptom.
From the clinical perspective, 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.
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The patient follow-up time ranged from 14 days to 110 days.
Six out of the 11 studies included only patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
The rest of the studies mixed mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 patients.
See also long haul
- Long-haul fatigue, etc. common after viral infections (SARS1,2, MERS, Swine, 1918,...)
- Perhaps virtually eliminate Long Haul if boost immune system thru Vitamin D, etc.
- Persistent symptoms 3 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection: the post-COVID-19 syndrome? - July 2020
- Loss of smell lingers post COVID-19| Feb 24
- "More than 50% of health care workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 report that their sense of smell has not returned to normal an average of 5 months post infection"
See also Vitamin D Life: COVID-19 treated by Vitamin D - studies, reports, videos
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