A study on sequela after covid-19 infection at fourth month – a descriptive study

Background: Many individuals experience persistent symptoms and a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) afterCOVID-19 illness. Existing studies have focused on hospitalized individuals during the time period April to June2021 after onset of illness and have reported symptoms up to 120 days after illness. Longer-term sequelae in outpatients have not been well portrayed.
Aims and Objective: To study the sequelae in adults4 months post COVID-19 infection.
Materials and Methods: A longitudinal prospective cohort of 50 adults with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) who reported to GMC Kotawere contacted between April to June 2021. A single follow-up questionnaire was filled telephonically between 3 and 4 months after illness onset.
Results: In the cohort, 6.2%were asymptomatic, 84.7% were outpatients with mild illness, and 16 (9.0%) had moderate or severe disease requiring hospitalization. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity.36 % patients reported persistent symptoms of which most common were dry cough and fatigue.
Conclusions: This study focused on assessing the health-related quality of life in COVID-19 individuals. This study showed that there was a significant reduction in utility scores than the general population. A significant percentage of COVID-19 recovered individuals reported dry cough, breathlessness and fatigue; hence, effective awareness programs and interventions are needed to increase their quality of life.