Covid-19 and Its Arthritic Footprint: Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Insights from a Cross Sectional Study in a...

The post-Covid-19 syndrome, also referred to as "Long Covid", can present with arthritic symptoms. A cross-sectional, prospective study was done on post Covid-19 patients at a tertiary centre in Telangana. This study included a total of 139 RT-PCR-confirmed Covid-19 patients, who were diagnosed with arthritis in the time interval between 1 to 6 months post Covid recovery. Demographic data, clinical data, blood investigations, inflammatory markers and imaging investigations were recorded. Majority of the patients (65.5%; n=91) were women and the mean age of the participants was 50.8 years. 77.0% (n=107) had arthralgia, 44.6% (n=62) had joint swelling, 25.2% (n=35) had myalgia and 5.8% (n=8) had fatigue. The most common joint affected was the knee (92.0%; n=128), followed by wrist (10.25%; n=4) and ankle (n=1). Abnormal Hb levels (43.9%; n=61), RBC counts (9.4%; n=13), WBC counts (13.7%; n=19) and ESR (26.6%; n=37), D-dimer (50.4%; n=70), LDH levels (49.6%; n=69), uric acid (36.0%; n=50), ferritin (35.5%; n=49) and rheumatoid factor (10.8%; n=15), were recorded in participants. Joint arthritic changes on radiographs and ultrasoundwere recorded in 77.0% had 95.7% of the participants respectively. Covid arthritis is one of the common features of Long Covid patients. Many patients suffer from joint aches and swelling which cause sufficient impairment causing majority of the individuals.