Multidisciplinary Center Care for Long COVID Syndrome-A Retrospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Pulmonology
• Neurology
• Cardiology

Background:

• Persistent multi-organ symptoms post-COVID-19 are termed long COVID.
• Managing long COVID patients presents challenges due to complex manifestations.
• Characteristics of patients at multidisciplinary post-COVID centers are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize patients seeking care at a multidisciplinary post-COVID center.
• To analyze specialty clinic utilization and clinical test results based on acute COVID-19 severity.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 1802 patients evaluated between May 2020 and February 2022.
• Analysis of specialty clinic visits and clinical test results.
• Stratification by severity of acute COVID-19 and hospitalization status.

Main Results:

• Neurology, pulmonology, and cardiology were the most utilized specialties.
• High prevalence of decreased quality of life (81%), cognitive impairment (51%), and pulmonary dysfunction (44.9%).
• Cognitive impairment and pulmonary dysfunction correlated with acute COVID-19 severity; hospitalized vs. non-hospitalized patients showed distinct findings.

Conclusions:

• Multidisciplinary centers commonly manage long COVID patients with frequent neurological, pulmonary, and cardiac abnormalities.
• Distinct pathogenic mechanisms may underlie long COVID in hospitalized versus non-hospitalized populations.
• Further research is needed to understand and treat diverse long COVID manifestations.