Objectives
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen, is a multi-organ disease with a broad spectrum of manifestations.1-2 Long-term complications following SARS-CoV-2 infection, known as post-COVID conditions (PCC) or ‘long COVID’, are important to understand due to their significant burden on healthcare systems and patients.3 PCC may affect individuals differently, manifesting as a sequela of symptoms that can vary in duration and severity.4-5 Additionally, little is known about the risk factors of PCC, making it difficult to describe those more likely to develop PCC. A targeted literature review was conducted to elucidate understanding of PCC and impact on patient health-related quality of life (HRQoL) from a global perspective.
Methods
PubMed was searched using terms describing PCC for global, English-language studies (2020-2022). Included studies reported any relationship between patient HRQoL and PCC. Single-case reports were excluded.
Results
From 349 identified publications, 37 underwent full-text review; 20 met inclusion criteria1-3,6-22 (17 excluded). Median follow-up time was 15 weeks, with most studies (85%) including follow-up of at least 12 weeks. Most studies attributed the symptoms of PCC to a decrease in HRQoL. Fatigue was the most reported symptom, followed by other neurological and psychological symptoms (e.g., headache, sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, loss of taste and smell, vision and hearing changes, impaired mobility, anxiety/depression). Cardiopulmonary and digestive symptoms were also reported in all studies. Almost all studies stated the need to understand risk factors causing symptoms of PCC to better characterize HRQoL.
Conclusions
This study revealed the diverse symptomatic burden and negative impact on HRQoL in patients with PCC. More research is needed to understand the risk factors and evolving complexity and long-term impact of PCC to ultimately guide global prevention and treatment of COVID-19. *Note: references are available upon request and will be included with the ISPOR presentation.