[Kok! Health] "Post-COVID Symptoms Mainly Respiratory Within 4 Weeks... Afterwards, Fatigue and Complex Symptoms"

Myongji Hospital Professor Younghee Jeong's Research Team
Analysis of 1122 Patients at COVID-19 Sequelae Clinic
First Report on Symptoms by Sequelae Duration
"Multidisciplinary Care Essential if Sequelae Persist Over 4 Weeks"

Classification of Post-COVID-19 Sequelae Symptoms. [Data provided by Myongji Hospital]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A domestic study has for the first time announced that respiratory-related symptoms should be intensively managed up to 4 weeks after COVID-19 infection, and that a multidisciplinary treatment approach is necessary from 4 weeks onward when complex symptoms appear.

Professor Jung Young-hee's research team at Hanyang University Myongji Hospital announced on the 1st that they published the results of a study comparing symptoms of 1,122 patients who visited the COVID-19 sequelae clinic for one month from March in the July issue of the SCI journal 'Journal of Korean Medical Science (JKMS)'.

The study found that within 4 weeks after Omicron infection, respiratory-related symptoms mainly appeared, but after 4 weeks, the prevalence of fatigue, decreased attention, depression, vision impairment, hair loss, and sexual dysfunction was higher.

The research team divided the 1,122 patients into an ‘acute sequelae group’ within 4 weeks (675 patients) and a ‘post-acute sequelae group’ over 4 weeks (447 patients), conducting a retrospective cross-sectional study based on questionnaires and medical records. The classification referred to the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) criteria, which classify post-acute COVID and Long COVID based on 4 and 12 weeks after diagnosis.

As a result, cardiopulmonary symptoms were the most common overall at 95.2%, followed by systemic symptoms at 73.4%, neurological symptoms at 67.8%, psychiatric symptoms at 45.7%, and gastrointestinal symptoms at 43.6%. Among detailed symptoms, cough was the most frequent at 78.9%, followed by sputum at 74.2%, fatigue at 66.2%, dyspnea at 51%, and general weakness at 49%.

Myongji Hospital COVID-19 Sequelae Clinic.

The most frequent symptoms by group were cough (82.2%), sputum (77.6%), and headache (37.8%) in the ‘acute group’. In contrast, the ‘post-acute group’ mainly showed fatigue (69.8%), decreased attention (38.9%), depression (25.7%), blurred vision (21.9%), difficulty urinating (9.8%), hair loss (9.4%), and sexual dysfunction (6.9%).

Additionally, the post-acute group exhibited an average of 4.2 multisymptoms (8.1 detailed symptoms), which was higher than the acute group’s 3.9 multisymptoms (7.6 detailed symptoms), especially showing a complex increase in psychiatric, ocular, dermatological, and urological symptom categories. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis revealed that older age and higher severity of depression, anxiety, and fatigue symptoms in COVID-19 sequelae patients were associated with an increased number of accompanying symptom categories and detailed symptoms.

Professor Jung Young-hee explained, “In the early phase of sequelae, respiratory symptoms caused by the respiratory virus COVID-19 were concentrated, but thereafter, various symptoms appear complexly due to multiple mechanisms. A multidisciplinary clinical approach is essential when sequelae symptoms persist for more than 4 weeks.”

Meanwhile, Myongji Hospital opened the country’s first multidisciplinary ‘COVID-19 Sequelae Clinic’ on March 16 and has treated over 3,300 COVID-19 sequelae patients to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.