6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study

Lancet

Introduction

As of Jan 4, 2021, the global pandemic of COVID-19—an emerging infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2—has resulted in more than 83 million confirmed cases with more than 1·8 million deaths. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics, pathogenesis, and complications of patients with COVID-19 at acute phase have been explicitly described,but the long-term consequences of the illness remain largely unclear.

Long-term follow-up studies on persistent symptoms, and lung function, physical, and psychological problems of discharged patients are urgently required.

Only a few studies with small sample sizes have been published, with the longest follow-up duration being 3 months following discharge from hospital.

Some persisting symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnoea,impaired pulmonary function and chest image abnormalities were reported in patients following hospital discharge, but the full spectrum of post-discharge characteristics is still unknown. Furthermore, no studies have yet reported the extra-pulmonary organ manifestations that could persist after damage in acute stage or are newly onset after discharge.

We aimed to describe the long-term consequences of COVID-19 in patients after hospital discharge and identify the potential risk factors, including disease severity, associated with these consequences.

Background

The long-term health consequences of COVID-19 remain largely unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the long-term health consequences of patients with COVID-19 who have been discharged from hospital and investigate the associated risk factors, in particular disease severity.

Findings

At 6 months after acute infection, COVID-19 survivors were mainly troubled with fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression. Patients who were more severely ill during their hospital stay had more severe impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations, and are the main target population for intervention of long-term recovery.