Palpitations, hair loss, fatigue, chest pain, dyspnea, joint pain, obesity seen after SARS-CoV-2 versus other viral respiratory infections<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
MONDAY, Feb. 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Sequelae associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have been identified, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in Open Forum Infectious Diseases<\/em>.<\/p>\n William I. Baskett, from the University of Missouri in Columbia, and colleagues analyzed 17,487 patients who received diagnoses for SARS-CoV-2 infection in 122 health care facilities to examine health effects occurring more than one month postinfection. From March 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021, patients were propensity score-matched to those diagnosed with the common cold, influenza, or viral pneumonia (viral respiratory infection [VRI]). In addition, patients with COVID-19 and patients with VRI were propensity score-matched to patients without COVID-19 or VRI. COVID-19-specific effects were considered in cases where COVID-19 infection was a significant positive predictor in both COVID-19 versus VRI and COVID-19 versus control comparisons.<\/p>\n The researchers found that in the postinfectious period, SARS-CoV-2 was associated with diagnoses of palpitations, hair loss, fatigue, chest pain, dyspnea, joint pain, and obesity compared with common VRIs.<\/p>\n “The survivors still have symptoms that are at times disabling and preventing them from going back to work or the activities of their daily life,” a coauthor said in a statement. “This is not because the COVID-19 infection is still active, but instead the infection has caused long-term consequences, or sequelae, in the form of a post-COVID syndrome that could persist for months or even years. Our research was able to identify long-term sequelae that are distinctive to COVID-19 and separate the post-COVID syndrome from other post-viral syndromes.”<\/p>\n