Long Term COVID-19 Complications in Inpatients and Outpatients: A One-Year Follow Up Cohort Study (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Background: The long-term effects of COVID-19 still remain to be explored. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection at one year after acute disease, either in inpatients and outpatients, and to explore associated risk factors, in particular disease severity during the acute phase.Methods: This study is part of a large cohort study of COVID+ patients. Seven-hundred seventeen patients from the metropolitan area of Milan in Lombardia (Italy) who had been referred for tele-monitoring after a confirmed or plausible SARS-CoV-2 infection between February and May 2020 were evaluated with a semi-structured phone interview between February and March 2021, regardless of the severity of the disease during the acute phase. In the phone interview performed by trained medical staff we looked for clinical complications in the following domains respiratory disorders, fatigue and weakness, muscle and joint pain, movement impairments, neurological and cognitive impairments, sensory alterations, sleep disorders, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Patients were asked if symptoms were present before the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and if the symptom was present at the current time.Interpretation: At 12-months after acute infection, COVID-19 survivors were still suffering of symptoms identified at shorter follow-up including fatigue, pain and sleep disorders among the most frequent. A more severe impairment in the acute phase did not seem to predict more severe complications, further supporting the unpredictability of such consequences. These data need to be considered and compared with other studies from other countries on COVID-19 survivors and have to be taken into account to plan public health interventions.Funding: Fondazione Invernizzi and Regional Operational Programme (ERDF ROP) 2014-2020Declaration of Interest None to declare. Ethical Approval This study was approved by the Ethics Commission of the University of Milan, (Ethics Commission number 126/20). Written informed consent was obtained from allparticipants.