tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Infect Dis
. 2024 Oct 9;24(1):1126.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-10059-y. Post-viral symptoms and conditions are more frequent in COVID-19 than influenza, but not more persistent
Falko Tesch[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Franz Ehm[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Friedrich Loser[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Lars Bechmann[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Annika Vivirito[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Danny Wende[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Manuel Batram[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Tilo Buschmann[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Simone Menzer[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Marion Ludwig[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Martin Roessler[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Martin Seifert[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Giselle Sarganas Margolis[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Lukas Reitzle[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Christina König[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Claudia Schulte[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Dagmar Hertle[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Pedro Ballesteros[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Stefan Baßler[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Barbara Bertele[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Thomas Bitterer[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cordula Riederer[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Franziska Sobik[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Christa Scheidt-Nave[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jochen Schmitt[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Post-viral symptoms have long been known in the medical community but have received more public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many post-viral symptoms were reported as particularly frequent after SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the specificity, frequency and persistence of these symptoms in comparison to other viral infectious diseases such as influenza.
Methods: We investigated a large population-based cohort based on German routine healthcare data. We matched 573,791 individuals with a PCR-test confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from the year 2020 to contemporary controls without SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls from the last influenza outbreak in 2018 and followed them up to 18 months.
Results: We found that post-viral symptoms as defined for COVID-19 by the WHO as well as tissue damage were more frequent among the COVID-19 cohort than the influenza or contemporary control cohort. The persistence of post-viral symptoms was similar between COVID-19 and influenza.
Conclusion: Post-viral symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection constitute a substantial disease burden as they are frequent and often persist for many months. As COVID-19 is becoming endemic, the disease must not be trivialized. Research should focus on the development of effective treatments for post-viral symptoms.
Keywords: Claims data; Cohort study; Influenza; Post-COVID; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2024 Oct 9;24(1):1126.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-10059-y. Post-viral symptoms and conditions are more frequent in COVID-19 than influenza, but not more persistent
Falko Tesch[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Franz Ehm[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Friedrich Loser[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Lars Bechmann[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Annika Vivirito[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Danny Wende[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Manuel Batram[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Tilo Buschmann[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Simone Menzer[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Marion Ludwig[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Martin Roessler[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Martin Seifert[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Giselle Sarganas Margolis[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Lukas Reitzle[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Christina König[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Claudia Schulte[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Dagmar Hertle[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Pedro Ballesteros[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Stefan Baßler[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Barbara Bertele[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Thomas Bitterer[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cordula Riederer[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Franziska Sobik[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Christa Scheidt-Nave[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jochen Schmitt[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39385128
- DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-10059-y
Background: Post-viral symptoms have long been known in the medical community but have received more public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many post-viral symptoms were reported as particularly frequent after SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the specificity, frequency and persistence of these symptoms in comparison to other viral infectious diseases such as influenza.
Methods: We investigated a large population-based cohort based on German routine healthcare data. We matched 573,791 individuals with a PCR-test confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from the year 2020 to contemporary controls without SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls from the last influenza outbreak in 2018 and followed them up to 18 months.
Results: We found that post-viral symptoms as defined for COVID-19 by the WHO as well as tissue damage were more frequent among the COVID-19 cohort than the influenza or contemporary control cohort. The persistence of post-viral symptoms was similar between COVID-19 and influenza.
Conclusion: Post-viral symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection constitute a substantial disease burden as they are frequent and often persist for many months. As COVID-19 is becoming endemic, the disease must not be trivialized. Research should focus on the development of effective treatments for post-viral symptoms.
Keywords: Claims data; Cohort study; Influenza; Post-COVID; SARS-CoV-2.