Prevalence of potential respiratory symptoms in survivors of hospital admission after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Knowledge on the sequelae of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains limited due to the relatively recent onset of this pathology. However, the literature on other types of coronavirus infections prior to COVID-19 reports that patients may experience persistent symptoms after discharge. To determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in survivors of hospital admission after COVID-19 infection. A living systematic review of five databases was performed in order to identify studies which reported the persistence of respiratory symptoms in COVID-19 patients after discharge. Two independent researchers reviewed and analysed the available literature, and then extracted and assessed the quality of those articles. Of the 1,154 reports returned by the initial search nine articles were found, in which 1,816 patients were included in the data synthesis. In the pooled analysis, we found a prevalence of 0.52 (CI 0.38–0.66, p < 0.01, I 2 = 97%), 0.37 (CI 0.28–0.48, p < 0.01, I 2 = 93%), 0.16 (CI 0.10–0.23, p < 0.01, I 2 = 90%) and 0.14 (CI 0.06–0.24, p < 0.01, I 2 = 96%) for fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain, and cough, respectively. Fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain, and cough were the most prevalent respiratory symptoms found in 52%, 37%, 16% and 14% of patients between 3 weeks and 3 months, after discharge in survivors of hospital admission by COVID-19, respectively.

Prevalence of post-COVID-19 symptoms in hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Another systematic review have reported that main post-COVID-19 sequelae were post-infectious fatigue, persistent reduced lung function and carditis; however, this review did not pooled data on post-COVID symptoms since it focused on functional impairments [49] . Another meta-analysis reported that the most common respiratory post-COVID-19 symptoms reported by hospitalized COVID-19 survivors included fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain, and cough showing prevalence rates of 52%, 37%, 16% and 14%, respectively between 3 weeks and 3 months after hospital discharge [50] . These prevalence data are similar to our pooled data observed at 60days follow-up; however, Cares-Marambio et al [50] pooled studies without distinction on follow-up periods.…”

“…Another meta-analysis reported that the most common respiratory post-COVID-19 symptoms reported by hospitalized COVID-19 survivors included fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain, and cough showing prevalence rates of 52%, 37%, 16% and 14%, respectively between 3 weeks and 3 months after hospital discharge [50] . These prevalence data are similar to our pooled data observed at 60days follow-up; however, Cares-Marambio et al [50] pooled studies without distinction on follow-up periods. Our systematic review/meta-analysis examined the prevalence of post-COVID-19 symptoms considering if patients were hospitalized or not and also separated by follow-up periods.…”

Long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome: putative pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatments

“…While the actual definition is lacking, a review identified that the most frequent symptoms of long COVID are fatigue and dyspnoea (i.e. shortness of breath) [ 17 , 18 ]. Other less typical symptoms include cognitive and mental disorders, headache, myalgia, chest and joint pains, smell and taste dysfunctions, cough, hair loss, insomnia, wheezing, rhinorrhea, sputum, and cardiac and gastrointestinal issues.…”

Long-Term Outcomes of Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 at One Year after Hospital Discharge

“…Whilst most survivors will have a full recovery, short-term follow-up reveals that a high proportion of individuals still report fatigue or muscle weakness, dyspnea, joint pain, chest pain, and psychological symptoms, leading to impaired health-related quality of life [5,7,8,10]. Even individuals attending emergency departments but not admitted to hospital report a prolonged and debilitating set of symptoms after their acute episode, sometimes labelled as "long COVID" [9,12]-the growing recognition of which in the literature has given rise to the new concept of "post-acute COVID-19 syndrome" (PCS) [13].…”