Midterm follow-up of healthy young adults with moderate to severe COVID-19: pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease sequelae

Abstract

BackgroundFollow-up studies on coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) were mainly focused on short-term sequelae in patients with comorbid diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the pulmonary and extrapulmonary sequelae of moderate to severe COVID-19 in the midterm follow-up of healthy young adults.MethodsIn this prospective cohort study, we used the hospital information system (HIS) to identify patients who had recovered from moderate to severe COVID-19 without comorbidity. All eligible patients were invited to participate in the study. Participants were asked to fill out a set of questionnaires to evaluate fatigue, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also underwent chest computed tomography (CT) scan, pulmonary function test (PFT), and tissue doppler imaging (TDI) echocardiography. A blood sample and a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) were obtained.ResultsA total of 50 recovered patients and 12 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Fifteen out of 50 patients received intensive care. Patients had significantly higher fatigue and anxiety scores than controls. PTSD criteria were met in 29 out of 50 patients. Ground glass opacities, nodules, and subpleural lines were the most frequent abnormalities in chest CT scans of patients. Patients had significantly lower left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) than controls (P value 0.019 and < 0.001, respectively).ConclusionsAccording to our findings, COVID-19 survivors might experience anxiety, fatigue, PTSD, pulmonary impairment, leading to reduced cardiac function up to 6 months after discharge.