Long COVID-19 in Mildly Symptomatic Patients: Another Vaccine Incentive?

Six months postinfection, young otherwise healthy adults with mild COVID-19 still had excess risk for disruptive dyspnea and cognitive dysfunction.

Although long-term sequelae after moderate to severe COVID-19 are well documented, lingering effects in patients with mild COVID-19 have not been as thoroughly investigated. Blomberg et al. conducted a prospective long-term study of 312 COVID-19 patients from Bergen, Norway (median age, 46; 247 managed with in-home isolation and 65 hospitalized, together representing 82% of cases in that city's first wave). The most common comorbidities were asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (12%), hypertension (11%), heart disease (7%), rheumatic disease (6%), and diabetes mellitus (4%).

At 6 months postinfection, 61% of patients had persistent symptoms, most commonly fatigue (37%), problems with concentration (26%), smell or taste disturbance…

Reviewing Author

George Sakoulas, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParatek Pharmaceuticals; Nestle Corp.; AbbVie; Shionogi

Speaker’s BureauAllergan/AbbVie; Paratek Pharmaceuticals; Nestle Corp.

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; Open Forum Infectious Diseases