Image_1_Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is common in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): Results from a post-COVID-.JPEG (211.93 kB)

Image_1_Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is common in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): Results from a post-COVID-19 multidisciplinary clinic.JPEG

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posted on 2023-04-21, 13:57 authored by Hector Bonilla, Tom C. Quach, Anushri Tiwari, Andres E. Bonilla, Mitchell Miglis, Phillip C. Yang, Lauren E. Eggert, Husham Sharifi, Audra Horomanski, Aruna Subramanian, Liza Smirnoff, Norah Simpson, Houssan Halawi, Oliver Sum-ping, Agnieszka Kalinowski, Zara M. Patel, Robert William Shafer, Linda N. Geng

Background

The global prevalence of PASC is estimated to be present in 0·43 and based on the WHO estimation of 470 million worldwide COVID-19 infections, corresponds to around 200 million people experiencing long COVID symptoms. Despite this, its clinical features are not well-defined.

Methods

We collected retrospective data from 140 patients with PASC in a post-COVID-19 clinic on demographics, risk factors, illness severity (graded as one-mild to five-severe), functional status, and 29 symptoms and principal component symptoms cluster analysis. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2015 criteria were used to determine the Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) phenotype.

Findings

The median age was 47 years, 59.0% were female; 49.3% White, 17.2% Hispanic, 14.9% Asian, and 6.7% Black. Only 12.7% required hospitalization. Seventy-two (53.5%) patients had no known comorbid conditions. Forty-five (33.9%) were significantly debilitated. The median duration of symptoms was 285.5 days, and the number of symptoms was 12. The most common symptoms were fatigue (86.5%), post-exertional malaise (82.8%), brain fog (81.2%), unrefreshing sleep (76.7%), and lethargy (74.6%). Forty-three percent fit the criteria for ME/CFS, majority were female, and obesity (BMI > 30 Kg/m²) (P = 0.00377895) and worse functional status (P = 0.0110474) were significantly associated with ME/CFS.

Interpretations

Most PASC patients evaluated at our clinic had no comorbid condition and were not hospitalized for acute COVID-19. One-third of patients experienced a severe decline in their functional status. About 43% had the ME/CFS subtype.