[russellw]

Also of interest is a review of short-term and long-term persistent postacute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) which covered more than 250k survivors with a median age of 56.4 years and of which 79.5% were hospitalised. Please note that all medians are mid-spread (interquartile range). In laymen's terms that means lasting side-effects.

The median proportion of COVID-19 survivors experiencing at least 1 PASC was 54.0% (45.0%-69.0%) at 1 month (short-term); 55.0% (34.8%-65.5%) at 2-5 months (intermediate-term); and 54.0% (31.0%-67.0%) at 6 or more months (long-term).

Most prevalent pulmonary sequelae, neurologic disorders, mental health disorders, functional mobility impairments, and general and constitutional symptoms were chest imaging abnormality (median 62.2%); difficulty concentrating (median 23.8%); generalised anxiety disorder (median 29.6%); general functional impairments (median 44.0%); and fatigue or muscle weakness (median 37.5%).

In this systematic review, more than half of COVID-19 survivors experienced PASC 6 months after recovery. The most common PASC involved functional mobility impairments, pulmonary abnormalities, and mental health disorders.

Neurologic Symptoms
The most common neurocognitive symptoms were difficulty concentrating (median 23.8% [20.4%-25.9%]); memory deficits (median 18.6% [17.3%-22.9%]) and cognitive impairment (median 17.1% [14.1%-30.5%]).

Dysgeusia (loss of taste) and anosmia (loss of smell) were reported in 11% (median 11.2% [6.7%-18.9%]) and 13% (median 13.4% [7.9%-19.0%]) of the survivors, respectively.

Pulmonary Abnormalities
Dyspnea (shortness of breath) (median 29.7%; [14.2%-37.0%]), cough (median 13.1% [5.3%-22.6%]), pulmonary diffusion abnormalities (median 30.3% [22.1%-38.5%]), ground glass opacification (an increase in lung attenuation) (median 23.1% [19.7%-43.0%]), restrictive patterns on spirometry (median 10.0% [6.1%-24.1%]), and lung fibrosis (median 7.0% [2.5%-17.7%]).

Overall, chest imaging abnormalities were present in a median of 62.2% (45.8%-76.5%) of survivors.

General and Constitutional Symptoms
Most commonly reported symptoms were joint pain (median 10.0% [6.1%-19.0%]); fatigue or muscle weakness (median 37.5% [25.4%-54.5%]); and flu-like symptoms (median 10.3% [4.5%-19.2%]). General pain (median 32.4% [22.3%-38.4%]), persistent fever (median 0.9% [0%-3.1%]), and muscle pain (median 12.7% [5.6%-21.3%]) were also frequently reported among survivors.

Cardiovascular Disorders
Chest pain and palpitations were common cardiovascular manifestations in survivors of COVID-19. The median frequency of chest pain and palpitation were 13.3% (8.8%-17.8%) and 9.3% (6.0%-10.8%), respectively.