VA, CDC data suggest that less severe COVID-19 patients require follow-up care

Patients who were not initially hospitalized for the treatment of COVID-19 infections still face frequent health problems, with additional months after diagnosis, according to two studies published late last week. I need care.

The data suggest an increase in new diagnostic and medical demand across a variety of disciplines, following the first month of acute COVID-19 infection, among patients with both low and high vision cases.

Therefore, clinicians and healthcare systems need to be aware of the long-term needs of COVID-19 survivors and be prepared to provide ongoing care, according to a study by researchers in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). there is. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

First study The (PDF), published in Nature on Thursday, examined the records of more than 73,000 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients who were not hospitalized and survived at least 30 days after the COVID-19 diagnosis. As far as the author knows, this represents the largest such post-acute COVID-19 study ever performed.

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Compared to the records of approximately 5 million other VHA patients without COVID-19, these patients were at increased risk of death and additional outpatient treatment. The patients studied were at increased risk of various conditions that occur in “almost all organ systems,” and the researchers also wrote that some classes of drugs were used more frequently.

A supplemental analysis performed by the team found that there were some clinical risks among VHACOVID-19 patients who were not admitted to the hospital or intensive care unit during the acute phase of the condition. The risk of these consequences gradually increased at each stage of intensive care needed by the patient.

“Beyond the first 30 days of illness, survivors of the acute phase of COVID-19 experience a significant burden of health loss across the lungs and several extrapulmonary organ systems,” the researchers write. I have. “Our results inform the global debate about the post-acute post-symptomatology of COVID-19. The findings reduce chronic and permanent health loss and optimize the health of COVID-19 survivors. It provides a roadmap to inform the planning of health systems and the development of care strategies aimed at becoming. “

Second studyWe reviewed the Kaiser Permanente Georgia record of 3,171 adults who had COVID-19 and were not hospitalized, published Friday in the weekly report on CDC morbidity and mortality.

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Between 28 and 180 days after diagnosis, 69% of patients recorded one or more outpatient visits. Notably, outpatients were women over the age of 50, non-Hispanic blacks, who had a radical diagnosis compared to those with no recorded outpatient visits.

68% of patients had at least one visit for a new primary diagnosis and 38% had a new expert visit. Symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19 and COVID-19 are one of the most common diagnoses of these new visits, and as the days went by, each became less common (completely eliminated). Not necessarily).

The researchers wrote that there was no control group to compare the results of the study, and their data alone could not answer whether the study group visited more than its undiagnosed peers.

However, they have an average number of patient visits Equivalent group Percentage of unhospitalized adults with influenza during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in Spain.

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“The presence of active COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 diagnosis, and expert referrals are available for several months after diagnosis in some unhospitalized adults, including patients with asymptomatic or mild acute illness. It suggests that they are likely to continue medical care, “the researchers write. “Awareness among patients, clinicians and healthcare systems about common new diagnostic and health needs after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is important to understanding the long-term effects of the disease. “

These two studies Academic literature And Data review This highlights prolonged COVID-19 symptoms and other health needs among people recovering from acute COVID-19 infection.

Due to various systems in the body that have been reported to be affected RWJ Barnabas Health And Mount Sinai Health System Over the past year, we have launched an interdisciplinary program dedicated to addressing the long-term health needs of COVID-19 patients.