The prevalence of long COVID-19 syndrome in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Introduction: Long COVID affects millions of individuals worldwide with a wide range of persistent symptoms. Pathogenesis, prevalence and clinical approach of this syndrome remain not well characterized.The aim of the study is the estimation of prevalence of long-COVID and identification of possible risk factors.

Patients and methods: This is an observational prospective study including COVID-19 patients hospitalized at the Department of Infectious Diseases of the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis (Greece). Eligible COVID-19 patients were interviewed and examined 6, 12 and 18 months after COVID-19 symptoms onset and hospital discharge in order to evaluate the prevalence and consequences of long-COVID symptoms.

Results: A total number of 995 patients were included. The median age at discharge was 55 years and 53% of patients were retired. The majority was males (57%). Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was completed in 52% (n=517) COVID-19 patients. More than 40% of COVID-19 patients had at least one symptom at 18 months after hospitalization. Intravenous antiviral 0treatment with remdesivir and complete vaccination status were found to lead to lower rates of Long-COVID.

Conclusions: More studies in larger patient cohorts are needed in order to identify the underlying biological mechanisms of long-COVID and create effective interventions for prevention and treatment.