Demand met by health services by individuals with musculoskeletal pain starting after covid-19 infection? (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Objective: The present work was aimed to verify the relationship between the use of health services and the presence of discomfort and musculoskeletal discomfort after Covid-19 infection in adults and elderly people in the southern region of Brazil.  Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study with individuals over 18 years of age who were diagnosed with covid-19 between December 2020 and March 2021. Questionnaires were collected electronically (with tablets) through the REDCap plataform by means of phone calls. The outcomes used were the use of health services Primary Health Care, general practitioner, unit and private emergency care and specialized services. The presence of musculoskeletal pain exposure was assessed using the Nordic questionnaire on musculoskeletal symptoms before and during and/or after COVID-19 infection in the following regions cervical, upper limbs, thoracic, lumbar, and lower limbs. Poisson regression was used to assess the relationship between health care service use after covid-19 infection and musculoskeletal pain. Data were analyzed using the Stata 16.1 statistical package.  Results: A total of 2,919 individuals were interviewed. Overall, the use of health services was about 15 percentage points (p.p) higher in individuals with musculoskeletal pain when compared with people without musculoskeletal pain. In adjusted analysis, individuals who reported pain in all outcomes during and after covid-19 infection was up to twice as likely to use health services and, among them, the emergency care unit was the most used, especially in those with pain in the lower limbs RP=2.19 (CI95% 1.66-2.87) and chest pain RP=2.04 (CI95% 1.47-2.84). In view of this, the highest magnitudes of association were related to emergency care units, doctors, and specialized services, especially neurologists, who were two to three times more likely to seek this profession, followed by pulmonologists.  Conclusion: In view of this, a new demand for more integrated care is recommended in a care model that offers comprehensive follow-up due to the diversity of users with specific needs.