(HealthDay News) — Residual symptoms after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are common among otherwise young and healthy persons followed in an outpatient setting, according to a study published online July 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Mayssam Nehme, M.D., from Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland, and colleagues assessed symptoms seven to nine months after diagnosis of mild COVID-19 (March 15 to May 15, 2020) using data from 629 individuals who participated in baseline surveys and 410 who completed follow-up surveys and telephone interviews.
The researchers found that seven to nine months after diagnosis, 39% of respondents reported residual symptoms. The most common symptoms included fatigue (20.7%), followed by loss of taste or smell (16.8%), dyspnea (11.7%), and headache (10%).
“Recognition of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 and potential predictors is important in reaching a more thorough understanding of the disease and its long-term effects,” the authors write. “With a high prevalence of symptoms at seven to nine months, physicians should continue to monitor patients with COVID-19 over the long term.”
