Is Central Sensitisation the Missing Link of Persisting Symptoms after COVID-19 Infection?

Lisa Goudman,Ann De Smedt,Marc Noppen,Maarten Moens

doi:10.3390/jcm10235594

Abstract

Patients recovered from a COVID-19 infection often report vague symptoms of fatigue or dyspnoea, comparable to the manifestations in patients with central sensitisation. The hypothesis was that central sensitisation could be the underlying common aetiology in both patient populations. This study explored the presence of symptoms of central sensitisation, and the association with functional status and health-related quality of life, in patients post COVID-19 infection. Patients who were previously infected with COVID-19 filled out the Central Sensitisation Inventory (CSI), the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale and the EuroQol with five dimensions, through an online survey. Eventually, 567 persons completed the survey. In total, 29.73% of the persons had a score of <40/100 on the CSI and 70.26% had a score of ≥40/100. Regarding functional status, 7.34% had no functional limitations, 9.13% had negligible functional limitations, 37.30% reported slight functional limitations, 42.86% indicated moderate functional limitations and 3.37% reported severe functional limitations. Based on a one-way ANOVA test, there was a significant effect of PCFS Scale group level on the total CSI score (F(4,486) = 46.17, p < 0.001). This survey indicated the presence of symptoms of central sensitisation in more than 70% of patients post COVID-19 infection, suggesting towards the need for patient education and multimodal rehabilitation, to target nociplastic pain.

Highlights

This survey indicated the presence of symptoms of central sensitisation in more than 70% of patients post COVID-19 infection, suggesting towards the need for patient education and multimodal rehabilitation, to target nociplastic pain
741 respondents who were previously infected with COVID-19 opened the survey between 4 June 2021 and 30 August 2021
Demographics were available for 567 respondents; the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) was filled in by 491 persons, the EQ5D-3L by 547 respondents, the EQ5D visual analogue scale (VAS) by 537 persons and the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale by 504 persons

Summary

Introduction

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still a serious global public health concern. This novel coronavirus, was first discovered in. While mild symptoms are reported in approximately 85% of the cases, a substantial proportion of patients with COVID-19 develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and critical illness [6]. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, signs and symptoms, such as persistent fatigue or depression, which continue or develop after acute COVID-19 are reported, and are denoted as “long COVID” [12]

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