A Social Media Survey on the Prevalence of Post-COVID Neurologic Complications Among Nigerians.

Q4 Medicine

West African journal of medicine Pub Date : 2025-01-30

I E Akase, S O Awodumila, C E Nwanmah, O O Ojo, O P Agabi, O Ede, F O Nwaokorie, R A Anyanwu, P S Ghajiga, O Kalejaiye, G S Perez-Giraldo, Z S Orban, M Jimenez, I J Koralnik, N U Okubadejo

{"title":"A Social Media Survey on the Prevalence of Post-COVID Neurologic Complications Among Nigerians.","authors":"I E Akase, S O Awodumila, C E Nwanmah, O O Ojo, O P Agabi, O Ede, F O Nwaokorie, R A Anyanwu, P S Ghajiga, O Kalejaiye, G S Perez-Giraldo, Z S Orban, M Jimenez, I J Koralnik, N U Okubadejo","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background and objective: Cultural barriers and perceptual factors that are peculiar among Africans are known to limit the number of people seeking medical care for post-COVID conditions. The aim of this social media survey was to ascertain the burden of post-COVID neurologic complications in Nigeria in individuals with confirmed COVID-19.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional web-based survey of persons with PCR-confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in Nigeria with incident infection between March 2020 and April 2022. Our survey utilized Kobo Toolbox® and was disseminated via several online platforms (including WhatsApp ®, Facebook®, and Twitter (X)®). Participant demographics, COVID-19 symptom profile, SARS-CoV-2 test results, and the occurrence of persistent neurological symptoms were documented.Results: We analyzed the data of 963 participants with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection. The mean age was 36.9 ± 9.9 years, and 555/963 (57.6%) were female. Only 174/963 individuals (18.1%) had SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmation at any point during the pandemic, of which 133 (76.4%) had accompanying symptoms consistent with the case definition. A total of 47/174 (27.0%) of the PCR-positive participants reported post-acute COVID symptoms, and 46/174 (26.4%) had post-COVID neurologic complaints. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue (25; 14.4%), generalized body weakness (22; 12.6%), and difficulty remembering things (15; 8.6%). Slightly over half of those with post-COVID symptoms (25/47; 53.2%) sought care, with 21/25 (84%) presenting to a medical facility. Others presented either to a community pharmacy (1/25) or a patent medicine store (3/25) for care.Conclusion: Despite low testing rates in Nigeria, the prevalence of post-COVID neurologic complications is approximately 1 in 4 individuals. Further studies on the prognosis and management of post-COVID neurologic sequelae in Nigeria are warranted.","PeriodicalId":23680,"journal":{"name":"West African journal of medicine","volume":"42 1","pages":"29-35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"West African journal of medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background and objective: Cultural barriers and perceptual factors that are peculiar among Africans are known to limit the number of people seeking medical care for post-COVID conditions. The aim of this social media survey was to ascertain the burden of post-COVID neurologic complications in Nigeria in individuals with confirmed COVID-19.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional web-based survey of persons with PCR-confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in Nigeria with incident infection between March 2020 and April 2022. Our survey utilized Kobo Toolbox® and was disseminated via several online platforms (including WhatsApp ®, Facebook®, and Twitter (X)®). Participant demographics, COVID-19 symptom profile, SARS-CoV-2 test results, and the occurrence of persistent neurological symptoms were documented.

Results: We analyzed the data of 963 participants with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection. The mean age was 36.9 ± 9.9 years, and 555/963 (57.6%) were female. Only 174/963 individuals (18.1%) had SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmation at any point during the pandemic, of which 133 (76.4%) had accompanying symptoms consistent with the case definition. A total of 47/174 (27.0%) of the PCR-positive participants reported post-acute COVID symptoms, and 46/174 (26.4%) had post-COVID neurologic complaints. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue (25; 14.4%), generalized body weakness (22; 12.6%), and difficulty remembering things (15; 8.6%). Slightly over half of those with post-COVID symptoms (25/47; 53.2%) sought care, with 21/25 (84%) presenting to a medical facility. Others presented either to a community pharmacy (1/25) or a patent medicine store (3/25) for care.

Conclusion: Despite low testing rates in Nigeria, the prevalence of post-COVID neurologic complications is approximately 1 in 4 individuals. Further studies on the prognosis and management of post-COVID neurologic sequelae in Nigeria are warranted.

本刊更多论文

一项关于尼日利亚人covid后神经系统并发症患病率的社交媒体调查。

背景和目的：众所周知，非洲人特有的文化障碍和感性因素限制了因covid - 19后疾病寻求医疗服务的人数。这项社交媒体调查的目的是确定尼日利亚确诊COVID-19患者的COVID-19后神经系统并发症负担。方法：我们对尼日利亚在2020年3月至2022年4月期间发生意外感染的pcr确诊或疑似SARS-CoV-2感染者进行了一项基于网络的横断面调查。我们的调查使用了Kobo Toolbox®，并通过多个在线平台（包括WhatsApp®，Facebook®和Twitter (X)®）进行传播。记录了参与者的人口统计学特征、COVID-19症状特征、SARS-CoV-2检测结果以及持续神经系统症状的发生。结果：我们分析了963名确诊或疑似COVID-19感染的参与者的数据。平均年龄36.9±9.9岁，女性555/963例，占57.6%。在大流行期间，只有174/963人（18.1%）在任何时候有SARS-CoV-2 PCR确诊，其中133人（76.4%）有与病例定义一致的伴随症状。共有47/174（27.0%）的pcr阳性参与者报告了急性COVID后症状，46/174（26.4%）有COVID后神经系统症状。最常见的报告症状是疲劳(25；14.4%)，全身无力(22；12.6%)，以及记忆困难(15%；8.6%)。略超过一半的covid后症状患者(25/47；53.2%)寻求治疗，其中21/25（84%）到医疗机构就诊。其他人去社区药房（1/25）或专利药店（3/25）就诊。结论：尽管尼日利亚的检测率较低，但covid后神经系统并发症的患病率约为1 / 4。尼日利亚有必要进一步研究covid - 19后神经系统后遗症的预后和管理。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

West African journal of medicine Medicine-Medicine (all)

自引率

0.00%

发文量

212