Two-Year Health Outcomes in Hospitalized COVID-19 Survivors in China

IMPORTANCE Relatively little is known about the persistence of symptoms in patients with COVID-19 for more than 1 year after their acute illness. OBJECTIVE To assess the health outcomes among hospitalized COVI D-19 survivors over 2 years and to identify factors associated with increased risk of persistent symptoms. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This was a longitudinal cohort study of patients who survived COVID-19 at 2 COVID-19-designated hospitals in Wuhan, China, from February 12 to April 10, 2020. All patients were interviewed via telephone at 1 year and 2 years after discharge. The 2-year follow-up study was conducted from March 1 to April 6, 2022. Statistical analysis was conducted from April 20 to May 5, 2022. The severity of disease was defined by World Health Organization guideline for COVID-19. EXPOSURES COVID-19. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome was symptom changes over 2 years after hospital discharge. All patients completed a symptom questionnaire for evaluation of symptoms, along with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test (CAT) at 1-year and 2-year follow-up visits. RESULTS Of 3988 COVID-19 survivors, a total of 1864 patients (median [IQR] age. 583 [49.0-68.0] years; 926 male patients [49.7%]) were available for both 1-year and 2-year follow-up visits. The median (IQR) time from discharge to follow-up at 2 years was 730 (719-743) days. At 2 years after hospital discharge, 370 patients (19.8%) still had symptoms, including 224 (12.0%) with persisting symptoms and 146 (7.8%) with new-onset or worsening of symptoms. The most common symptoms were fatigue, chest tightness, anxiety, dyspnea, and myalgia. Most symptoms resolved over time, but the incidence of dyspnea showed no significant change (1-year vs 2-year, 2.6% [49 patients] vs 2.0% [37 patients]). A total of 116 patients (6.2%) had CAT total scores of at least 10 at 2 years after discharge. Patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit had higher risks of persistent symptoms (odds ratio. 2.69; 95% Cl. 1.02-7.06; P = .04) and CAT scores of 10 or higher (odds ratio, 2.83; 95% Cl. 1.21-6.66; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this cohort study, 2 years after hospital discharge, COVID-19 survivors had a progressive decrease in their symptom burden, but those with severe disease during hospitalization, especially those who required intensive care unit admission, had higher risks of persistent symptoms. These results are related to the original strain of the virus, and their relevance to infections with the Omicron variant is not known.

Automated summary

This study examined the persistence of symptoms in COVID-19 survivors and found that patients with severe disease and those who required intensive care had a higher risk of persistent symptoms up to 2 years after discharge.