Long-term Prognosis at 1.5 years after Infection with Wild-type strain of SARS-CoV-2 and Alpha, Delta, as well as Omicron Variants, 2023, Agergaard et

Long-term Prognosis at 1.5 years after Infection with Wild-type strain of SARS-CoV-2 and Alpha, Delta, as well as Omicron Variants
Jane Agergaard; Jesper Damsgaard Gunst; Berit Schiøttz-Christensen; Lars Østergaard; Christian Wejse

Objectives
Knowledge is limited on how changing SARS-CoV-2 variants may translate into different characteristics and affect prognosis of patients with long COVID, especially following Omicron variants. We compared long-term prognosis of patients in a Danish Post COVID Clinic infected with wild-type strain, Alpha, Delta, or Omicron variants as well as the pre-Omicron compared to the Omicron period.

Methods
At enrollment a Post COVID symptom Questionnaire (PCQ), and standard health scores, were registered, and repeated four times until 1.5 years after infection. PCQ was the primary outcome to assess severity of long COVID, and delta PCQ to assess failure to improve.

Results
A total of 806 patients were enrolled. Patients infected with Omicron and Delta variants presented with more severe long COVID (median PCQ 43 in Delta vs 38 in wild-type, P=0.003) and health scores (EQ5D-index was 0.70 in Omicron vs 0.76 in wild-type, P=0.009 and 0.78 pre-Omicron, P=0.006). At 1.5 year after infection patients had no clinically meaningful decline in severity of long COVID, and 57% (245/429) of patients failed to improve 1.5 years after infection, with no differences between variants.

Conclusions
More than half of patients referred to a Post COVID Clinic failed to improve in long COVID severity 1.5 years after infection regardless of variants of SARS-CoV-2.


Link | PDF (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)