Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Symptoms Compatible With Long Coronavirus Disease (COVID) in Healthcare Workers With and Without Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection—Results of a Prospective Multicenter Cohort. |
| Authors: |
Strahm, Carol, Seneghini, Marco, Güsewell, Sabine, Egger, Thomas, Leal-Neto, Onicio, Brucher, Angela, Lemmenmeier, Eva, Kleeb, Dorette Meier, Möller, J Carsten, Rieder, Philip, Ruetti, Markus, Rutz, Remus, Schmid, Hans Ruedi, Stocker, Reto, Vuichard-Gysin, Danielle, Wiggli, Benedikt, Besold, Ulrike, Kuster, Stefan P, McGeer, Allison, Risch, Lorenz |
| Source: |
Clinical Infectious Diseases; Jul2022, Vol. 75 Issue 1, pe1011-e1019, 9p |
| Subject Terms: |
RESEARCH, COVID-19, CONFIDENCE intervals, POST-acute COVID-19 syndrome, SERODIAGNOSIS, AGE distribution, MEDICAL personnel, SEROLOGY, RISK assessment, PSYCHOSOCIAL factors, DESCRIPTIVE statistics, INDUSTRIAL hygiene, ODDS ratio, LONGITUDINAL method, DISEASE risk factors |
| Abstract: |
Background The burden of long-term symptoms (ie, long COVID) in patients after mild COVID-19 is debated. Within a cohort of healthcare workers (HCWs), frequency and risk factors for symptoms compatible with long COVID are assessed. Methods Participants answered baseline (August/September 2020) and weekly questionnaires on SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) results and acute disease symptoms. In January 2021, SARS-CoV-2 serology was performed; in March, symptoms compatible with long COVID (including psychometric scores) were asked and compared between HCWs with positive NPS, seropositive HCWs without positive NPS (presumable asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic infections), and negative controls. The effect of time since diagnosis and quantitative anti-spike protein antibodies (anti-S) was evaluated. Poisson regression was used to identify risk factors for symptom occurrence. Results Of 3334 HCWs (median, 41 years; 80% female), 556 (17%) had a positive NPS and 228 (7%) were only seropositive. HCWs with positive NPS more frequently reported ≥1 symptom compared with controls (73% vs 52%, P < .001); seropositive HCWs without positive NPS did not score higher than controls (58% vs 52%, P = .13), although impaired taste/olfaction (16% vs 6%, P < .001) and hair loss (17% vs 10%, P = .004) were more common. Exhaustion/burnout was reported by 24% of negative controls. Many symptoms remained elevated in those diagnosed >6 months ago; anti-S titers correlated with high symptom scores. Acute viral symptoms in weekly questionnaires best predicted long-COVID symptoms. Physical activity at baseline was negatively associated with neurocognitive impairment and fatigue scores. Conclusions Seropositive HCWs without positive NPS are only mildly affected by long COVID. Exhaustion/burnout is common, even in noninfected HCWs. Physical activity might be protective against neurocognitive impairment/fatigue symptoms after COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |
