Some characteristics of clinical sequelae of COVID-19 survivors from Wuhan, China: A multi-center longitudinal study

Background

The pandemic of COVID‐19 has a persistent impact on global health, yet its sequelae need to be addressed at a wide scale around the globe. This study aims to investigate the characteristics, prevalence, and risk factors for mid‐term (>6 months) clinical sequelae in a cohort of COVID‐19 survivors.

Methods

Totally 715 COVID‐19 survivors discharged before April 1, 2020, from three medical centers in Wuhan, China, were included. The longitudinal study was conducted by telephone interviews based on a questionnaire including the clinical sequelae of general, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. Demographics and some characteristics of clinical sequelae of the survivors were recorded and analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to explore the risk factors for the sequelae.

Results

The median time interval from discharge to telephone interview was 225.0 days. The COVID‐19 survivors' median ages were 69 years, and 51.3% were male. Among them, 29.9% had at least one clinical sequela. There were 19.2%, 22.7%, and 5.0% of the survivors reporting fatigue, respiratory symptoms, and cardiovascular symptoms, respectively. Comorbidities, disease severity, the application of mechanical ventilation and high‐flow oxygen therapy, and the history of re‐admission were associated with the presence of clinical sequelae.

Conclusions

Our study provides further evidence for the prevalence and characteristics of clinical sequelae of COVID‐19 survivors, suggesting long‐term monitoring and management is needed for their full recovery.

Comparison of Persistent Symptoms After COVID-19 and Other Non-SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Children

Introduction: The data on long COVID in children is scarce since children and adolescents are typically less severely affected by acute COVID-19. This study aimed to identify the long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, and to compare the persistent symptom spectrum between COVID-19 and community-acquired infections of other etiologies. Methods: This was an ambidirectional cohort study conducted at the Children's Clinical University Hospital in Latvia. The study population of pediatric COVID-19 patients and children with other non-SARS-CoV-2-community-acquired infections were invited to participate between July 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021. Results: In total, 236 pediatric COVID-19 patients were enrolled in the study. Additionally, 142 comparison group patients were also enrolled. Median follow-up time from acute symptom onset was 73.5 days (IQR; 43-110 days) in the COVID-19 patient group and 69 days (IQR, 58-84 days) in the comparison group. Most pediatric COVID-19 survivors (70%, N = 152) reported at least one persistent symptom, but more than half of the patients (53%, N = 117) noted two or more long-lasting symptoms. The most commonly reported complaints among COVID-19 patients included persistent fatigue (25.2%), cognitive sequelae, such as irritability (24.3%), and mood changes (23.3%), as well as headaches (16.9%), rhinorrhea (16.1%), coughing (14.4%), and anosmia/dysgeusia (12.3%). In addition, 105 (44.5%) COVID patients had persistent symptoms after the 12-week cut-off point, with irritability (27.6%, N = 29), mood changes (26.7%, N = 28), and fatigue (19.2%, N = 20) being the most commonly reported ones. Differences in symptom spectrum among the various age groups were seen. Logistic regression analysis showed that long-term persistent symptoms as fever, fatigue, rhinorrhea, loss of taste and/or smell, headaches, cognitive sequelae, and nocturnal sweating were significantly associated with the COVID-19 experience when compared with the controls. Conclusions: We found that at the time of interview almost three-quarters of children reported at least one persistent symptom, but the majority of patients (53%) had two or more concurrent symptoms. The comparison group's inclusion in the study allowed us to identify that symptom persistence is more apparent with COVID-19 than any other non-SARS-CoV-2 infection. More research is needed to distinguish the symptoms of long COVID from pandemic-associated complaints. Each persistent symptom is important in terms of child well-being during COVID-19 recovery.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Quality of Life of COVID-19 Survivors at 6-Month Follow-Up: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychiatric sequelae among novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, PTSD-related factors, and its relationship with quality of life at long-term follow-up in hospitalized COVID-19 survivors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate the health consequences of hospitalized COVID-19 survivors. All participants were interviewed face-to-face through a series of questionnaires: a researcher-developed symptom questionnaire, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, and the 36-item Short Form. Results: A total of 574 participants were enrolled with an average age of 57 years. The median follow-up time post-discharge was 193.9 days (SD = 15.32). Among the participants, 77.9% of survivors presented with at least one symptom, where fatigue or muscle weakness (47.9%) was reported the most frequently, followed by chest distress (29.4%) and sleep difficulty (29.4%). The prevalence of PTSD was 11.15% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.56, 13.73] with a cut-off score of 44. Factors such as respiratory symptoms [odds ratio (OR): 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68-7.42], anxiety (OR: 14.64; 95% CI: 7.09-30.21), and sleep difficulty (OR: 2.17; 95% CI: 1.14-4.16) were positively related to PTSD. Those COVID-19 survivors with potential PTSD had significantly lower quality of life than those without (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study illustrated that a significant number of COVID-19 survivors were suffering from physical or mental distress to varying degrees at 6 months post-discharge. People with PTSD were more likely to experience persistent respiratory symptoms and sleep difficulty, as well as anxiety and a decreased quality of life. Such survivors require greater attention to their mental health, particularly the PTSD symptoms at the early phase, which may play an important role in the recovery of both the physical and psychological health of COVID-19 survivors.

Clinical sequelae of the novel coronavirus: does COVID-19 infection predispose patients to cancer?

As cancer patients are clinically known to be predisposed to COVID-19 infection, a corollary question of whether COVID-19 infection predisposes to cancer is explored. This article seeks to establish an association between novel coronavirus sequelae and cancer. A literature review on COVID-19 mechanisms of action, molecular responses it elicits upon infection and tumorigenesis pathways is conducted to establish this association. Major signaling pathways implicated in aberrant cellular growth are activated, the ensuing cytokine storm weakens the immune system response to tumors, and patients may develop cancer as a result of superimposed mutagenic and/or carcinogenic events. Future work needs to be performed to support this hypothesis, both in in vitro models and preclinical studies. COVID-19 patients may need to be monitored post-infection for developing cancer.

Comprehensive Clinical and Laboratory Follow-up of a Female Patient With Ebola Virus Disease: Sierra Leone Ebola Virus Persistence Study

The clinical, virologic, and immunologic findings in a female Ebola virus disease patient are described. During the long-term follow-up, Ebola virus RNA was detectable in vaginal fluid before 36 days after symptom onset, with nearly an identical genome sequence as in acute phase blood. Ebola-specific T cells retained activation at 56 days after disease onset.

Red blood cell storage lesion: causes and potential clinical consequences

Red blood cells (RBCs) are a specialised organ that enabled the evolution of multicellular organisms by supplying a sufficient quantity of oxygen to cells that cannot obtain oxygen directly from ambient air via diffusion, thereby fueling oxidative phosphorylation for highly efficient energy production. RBCs have evolved to optimally serve this purpose by packing high concentrations of haemoglobin in their cytosol and shedding nuclei and other organelles. During their circulatory lifetimes in humans of approximately 120 days, RBCs are poised to transport oxygen by metabolic/redox enzymes until they accumulate damage and are promptly removed by the reticuloendothelial system. These elaborate evolutionary adaptions, however, are no longer effective when RBCs are removed from the circulation and stored hypothermically in blood banks, where they develop storage-induced damages ("storage lesions") that accumulate over the shelf life of stored RBCs. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive view of the literature on the subject of RBC storage lesions and their purported clinical consequences by incorporating the recent exponential growth in available data obtained from "omics" technologies in addition to that published in more traditional literature. To summarise this vast amount of information, the subject is organised in figures with four panels: i) root causes; ii) RBC storage lesions; iii) physiological effects; and iv) reported outcomes. The driving forces for the development of the storage lesions can be roughly classified into two root causes: i) metabolite accumulation/depletion, the target of various interventions (additive solutions) developed since the inception of blood banking; and ii) oxidative damages, which have been reported for decades but not addressed systemically until recently. Downstream physiological consequences of these storage lesions, derived mainly by in vitro studies, are described, and further potential links to clinical consequences are discussed. Interventions to postpone the onset and mitigate the extent of the storage lesion development are briefly reviewed. In addition, we briefly discuss the results from recent randomised controlled trials on the age of stored blood and clinical outcomes of transfusion.

Cerebellum of the premature infant: rapidly developing, vulnerable, clinically important

Brain abnormality in surviving premature infants is associated with an enormous amount of neurodevelopmental disability, manifested principally by cognitive, behavioral, attentional, and socialization deficits, most commonly with only relatively modest motor deficits. The most recognized contributing neuropathology is cerebral white matter injury. The thesis of this review is that acquired cerebellar abnormality is a relatively less recognized but likely important cause of neurodevelopmental disability in small premature infants. The cerebellar disease may be primarily destructive (eg, hemorrhage, infarction) or primarily underdevelopment. The latter appears to be especially common and relates to a particular vulnerability of the cerebellum of the small premature infant. Central to this vulnerability are the extraordinarily rapid and complex developmental events occurring in the cerebellum. The disturbance of development can be caused either by direct adverse effects on the cerebellum, especially the distinctive transient external granular layer, or by indirect remote trans-synaptic effects. This review describes the fascinating details of cerebellar development, with an emphasis on events in the premature period, the major types of cerebellar abnormality acquired during the premature period, their likely mechanisms of occurrence, and new insights into the relation of cerebellar disease in early life to subsequent cognitive/behavioral/attentional/socialization deficits.