Real-world evidence on long COVID-19 in Greece: A multicenter, cross-sectional study (LONCOV2)

This study aimed to provide real-world data on the clinical presentation and management of long COVID in Greece.

This non-interventional, nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study included adults with a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection who presented with suspected long-term COVID-19 manifestations ≥4 weeks after acute infection.

Among 1011 patients (mean ± SD age: 55.95 ± 15.74 years; 56.18% female; 5.04% hospitalized) enrolled between December 2022 and May 2023, the most affected Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) System Organ Class (SOC) was General disorders and administration site conditions (75.67%), with fatigue/malaise as the predominant symptom (69.93%). This was followed by Respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders (60.34%), with cough (50.64%) and dyspnea (24.83%) as leading symptoms. Social circumstances, specifically impairments in daily living activities (44.21%), Nervous system disorders (40.26%), mainly headache (23.24%), and Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (27.70%), mainly myalgia (24.63%), were also prominent. The majority (74.38%) had been vaccinated prior to infection, with vaccination shown to be protective against nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms. Females were more prone to systemic, psychiatric, nervous, and musculoskeletal symptoms and impairments in daily activities, but less prone to respiratory symptoms.

Multisystem long-term COVID-19 complications were observed, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary management of this complex, multifaceted condition.