Assessment of post-COVID 19 symptoms: An observational cohort study from a level 3 COVID hospital

Introduction: A substantial number of patients continue to have symptoms even after testing negative for COVID 19. Ours is a single-center, observational, cross-sectional study that describes the prevalent symptoms in patients who have recovered from mild-to-moderate COVID 19 disease. Materials and Methods: In a span of 3 months, from November 2020 to January 2021, we collected self-reported data from all post-COVID patients who consulted the post-COVID 19 outpatient department. Data on the pertinent history related to their diagnosis of COVID-19 disease like the date of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction positive and negative reports and length of stay in hospital were collected. Self-reported data were collected in simple Yes/No format for the presence of common respiratory and general post-COVID-19 symptoms. The final data were analyzed and presented using the using R software version 4.0.2. Results: The mean age of the patients was 42.89 years with majority being from the age group of above 50 years of age. The mean duration of hospital stay was found to be 14 ± 7 days. A higher percentage were admitted for >10 days among all age groups, more predominantly among >60 years of age. Only 5 male patients gave a history of receiving noninvasive ventilation. Significantly a greater number of females complained of fatigue. Other symptoms that were found more commonly in females were headache, loss of hearing, and wheeze. Conclusion: In our study, fatigue is the most common presenting symptoms followed by cough and breathlessness. Further evaluation and regular follow-up required to substantiate this observation.