Long‐term health consequences of COVID‐19 in survivors hospitalised at a tertiary care hospital and their correlation with acute COVID‐19 severity and associated risk factors

Objectives To determine post‐COVID syndromes in the Indian population, correlating a wide spectrum of post‐COVID manifestations with acute disease severity and associated risk factors. Background Post‐COVID Syndrome (PCS) is defined as signs and symptoms that develop during or after acute COVID‐19 infection. Design of Study This is a prospective observational cohort with repetitive measurements. Methods The study followed RT‐PCR confirmed COVID‐19‐positive survivors discharged from HAHC Hospital, New Delhi, for a period of 12 weeks. The patients were interviewed over the phone at 4 weeks and 12 weeks from the onset of symptoms for evaluation of clinical symptoms and health‐related quality of life parameters. Results A total of 200 patients completed the study. At the baseline, 50% of the patients were categorised as severe based on their acute infection assessment. At 12 weeks after symptom onset, fatigue (23.5%), hair loss (12.5%) and dyspnea (9%) were the main persistent symptoms. The incidence of hair loss (12.5%), memory loss (4.5%) and brain fog (5%) were found to be increased as compared to the acute infection period. Severity of the acute COVID infection behaved as an independent predictor for the development of PCS, with high odds of experiencing persistent cough (OR = 13.1), memory loss (OR = 5.2) and fatigue (OR = 3.3). Further, 30% of subjects in the severe group experienced statistically significant fatigue at 12 weeks (p