Long COVID symptoms in a third of people with COVID-19

In a new study from the Geneva University Hospitals, researchers found among patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19, lingering symptoms seven months after infection was common.

In the study, the team surveyed 629 persons who were a part of Geneva’s CoviCare program from 18 March to 15 May 2020.

They used semi-structured telephone interviews at enrollment and 30 to 45 days and seven to nine months from diagnosis to characterize long-term symptoms after COVID-19 infection.

Among the 410 patients that completed follow-up at seven to nine months after diagnosis, 39.0% reported residual symptoms.

These symptoms included fatigue (20.7%), loss of taste or smell (16.8%), shortness of breath (11.7%), and headache (10.0%).

Based on these findings and findings from similar studies, the researchers suggest that people treated on an outpatient basis for mild to moderate COVID-19 should be informed about the potential for long-term effects and physicians should continue to monitor them.

Doctors should also be aware of other causes of such symptoms as fatigue, cognitive and neurologic symptoms, and shortness of breath to avoid misinterpretation.

If you care about COVID, please read studies about the risk of severe and ‘long’ COVID-19 may start very early and findings of even mild COVID-19 can lead to long-lasting illness.

For more information about COVID and your health, please see recent studies about this painkiller that may affect your liver health much more than expected and results showing that many middle-aged people have this dangerous liver disease without knowing it.

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.