TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 Patients in the COVID-19 Recovery and Engagement (CORE) Clinics in the Bronx
AU - Eligulashvili, Anna
AU - Darrell, Megan
AU - Miller, Carolyn
AU - Lee, Jeylin
AU - Congdon, Seth
AU - Lee, Jimmy S.
AU - Hsu, Kevin
AU - Yee, Judy
AU - Hou, Wei
AU - Islam, Marjan
AU - Duong, Tim Q.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Background: Early in the pandemic, we established COVID-19 Recovery and Engagement (CORE) Clinics in the Bronx and implemented a detailed evaluation protocol to assess physical, emotional, and cognitive function, pulmonary function tests, and imaging for COVID-19 survivors. Here, we report our findings up to five months post-acute COVID-19. Methods: Main outcomes and measures included pulmonary function tests, imaging tests, and a battery of symptom, physical, emotional, and cognitive assessments 5 months post-acute COVID-19. Findings: Dyspnea, fatigue, decreased exercise tolerance, brain fog, and shortness of breath were the most common symptoms but there were generally no significant differences between hospitalized and non-hospitalized cohorts (p > 0.05). Many patients had abnormal physical, emotional, and cognitive scores, but most functioned independently; there were no significant differences between hospitalized and non-hospitalized cohorts (p > 0.05). Six-minute walk tests, lung ultrasound, and diaphragm excursion were abnormal but only in the hospitalized cohort. Pulmonary function tests showed moderately restrictive pulmonary function only in the hospitalized cohort but no obstructive pulmonary function. Newly detected major neurological events, microvascular disease, atrophy, and white-matter changes were rare, but lung opacity and fibrosis-like findings were common after acute COVID-19. Interpretation: Many COVID-19 survivors experienced moderately restrictive pulmonary function, and significant symptoms across the physical, emotional, and cognitive health domains. Newly detected brain imaging abnormalities were rare, but lung imaging abnormalities were common. This study provides insights into post-acute sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurological and pulmonary systems which may be used to support at-risk patients and develop effective screening methods and interventions.
AB - Background: Early in the pandemic, we established COVID-19 Recovery and Engagement (CORE) Clinics in the Bronx and implemented a detailed evaluation protocol to assess physical, emotional, and cognitive function, pulmonary function tests, and imaging for COVID-19 survivors. Here, we report our findings up to five months post-acute COVID-19. Methods: Main outcomes and measures included pulmonary function tests, imaging tests, and a battery of symptom, physical, emotional, and cognitive assessments 5 months post-acute COVID-19. Findings: Dyspnea, fatigue, decreased exercise tolerance, brain fog, and shortness of breath were the most common symptoms but there were generally no significant differences between hospitalized and non-hospitalized cohorts (p > 0.05). Many patients had abnormal physical, emotional, and cognitive scores, but most functioned independently; there were no significant differences between hospitalized and non-hospitalized cohorts (p > 0.05). Six-minute walk tests, lung ultrasound, and diaphragm excursion were abnormal but only in the hospitalized cohort. Pulmonary function tests showed moderately restrictive pulmonary function only in the hospitalized cohort but no obstructive pulmonary function. Newly detected major neurological events, microvascular disease, atrophy, and white-matter changes were rare, but lung opacity and fibrosis-like findings were common after acute COVID-19. Interpretation: Many COVID-19 survivors experienced moderately restrictive pulmonary function, and significant symptoms across the physical, emotional, and cognitive health domains. Newly detected brain imaging abnormalities were rare, but lung imaging abnormalities were common. This study provides insights into post-acute sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurological and pulmonary systems which may be used to support at-risk patients and develop effective screening methods and interventions.
KW - COVID symptoms
KW - PASC
KW - brain imaging
KW - chest imaging
KW - fatigue
KW - long COVID
KW - pulmonary function tests
KW - shortness of breath
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U2 - 10.3390/diagnostics13010119
DO - 10.3390/diagnostics13010119
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145820296
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 13
JO - Diagnostics
JF - Diagnostics
IS - 1
M1 - 119
ER -