Post-acute and long-COVID-19 symptoms in patients with mild diseases: a systematic review, 2021, van Kessel et al

Abstract

Background
It is expected that GPs are increasingly confronted with a large group of patients with symptoms persisting three weeks after initial symptoms of a mild (managed in the outpatient setting) COVID-19 infection. Currently, research on these persistent symptoms mainly focuses on patients with severe infections (managed in an inpatient setting) whereas patients with mild disease are rarely studied.

Objective
The main objective of this systematic review was to create an overview of the nature and frequency of persistent symptoms experienced by patients after mild COVID-19 infection.

Methods
Systematic literature searches were performed in Pubmed, Embase and PsychINFO on 2 February 2021. Quantitative studies, qualitative studies, clinical lessons and case reports were considered eligible designs.

Results
In total, nine articles were included in this literature review. The frequency of persistent symptoms in patients after mild COVID-19 infection ranged between 10% and 35%. Symptoms persisting after a mild COVID-19 infection can be distinguished into physical, mental and social symptoms. Fatigue was the most frequently described persistent symptom. Other frequently occurring persistent symptoms were dyspnoea, cough, chest pain, headache, decreased mental and cognitive status and olfactory dysfunction. In addition, it was found that persisting symptoms after a mild COVID-19 infection can have major consequences for work and daily functioning.

Conclusion
There is already some evidence that symptoms of mild COVID-19 persist after 3 weeks in a third of patients. However, there is a lack of data about symptoms persisting after 3 months (long-COVID). More research is needed to help GPs in managing long-COVID.

Open access, https://academic.oup.com/fampra/advance-article/doi/10.1093/fampra/cmab076/6322429

 

Expecting means something in the future. It's been happening for over a year, that's like "expecting" rain 2 hours into a downpour with water around your ankles.

I was curious what a "social symptom" could possibly mean and they list: Hinder in daily functioning and Consequences for work, which are obviously not symptoms but that says a lot about BPS thinking. That's just not what the word symptom means. Those are consequences, serious ones, but they do not under any definition of the word mean "symptoms".

And under "mental symptoms" they list: Psychological symptoms and Cognitive dysfunction. Which is another circular muddle that I guess is supposed to mean the brain because of course the only dualists are the BPS ideologues as obviously there is a biological basis to cognitive dysfunction.

Shows that even merely framing a relevant issue under a BPS framing basically makes it irrelevant. Just a mess of confusion that adds absolutely nothing but promotion of the BPS ideology.