Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered From COVID-19 Infection: A Survey From Pakistan

Completed

• Conditions: COVID-19 Lower Respiratory Infection; COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19 Respiratory Infection

• Registration Number: NCT05148676
• Lead Sponsor: Aga Khan University

Brief Summary

There remains scarcity of literature regarding the patient's health status post-COVID-19 infection. This study analyzes the prevalence of residual symptoms and quality of life (QoL) after COVID-19.

Detailed Description

An anonymous online survey was administrated in Pakistan from November 2020 to April 2021 in COVID-19 survivors. The questionnaire used the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) to assess mental and physical QoL. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore factors associated with mental and physical QoL scores.

A total of 331 COVID-19 survivors participated in our survey. Around 42.0% of the cohort reported within 1-3 months of diagnosis of COVID-19. The common residual symptoms were body aches (39.9%), low mood (32.6%), and cough (30.2%). Better physical QoL was associated with being male (adjusted beta: 3.328) and having no residual symptoms (6.955). However, suffering from nausea/vomiting during initial COVID-19 infection (-4.026), being admitted to the ICU during COVID-19 infection (-9.164), and suffering from residual body aches (-5.209) and low mood (-2.959) was associated with poorer QoL. Better mental QoL was associated with being asymptomatic during initial COVID-19 infection (6.149) and post-COVID (6.685), while experiencing low mood post-COVID was associated with poorer mental QoL (-8.253 \[-10.914, -5.592\]).

Despite presumed "recovery" from COVID-19, patients still face a wide range of residual symptoms months after initial infection, which contributes towards poorer QoL. Healthcare professionals must remain alert to the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 infection and aim to address them appropriately to improve patients' QoL.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2020-11-01
• Primary Completion: 2021-04-01
• Study Completion: 2021-04-10
• Status Verified: 2021-12
• Study First Submitted: 2021-12-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-12-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-12-07
• Study First Posted: 2021-12-08
• Last Update Posted: 2021-12-08

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 331

Inclusion Criteria

• Tested negative for COVID-19 when enrolled in the study
• COVID-19 negative for at least 6 months

Exclusion Criteria

• Still Positive for COVID-19 tested one week ago
• COVID-19 negative for less than 6 months

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered from COVID-19 Infection: A Survey from Pakistan	November 2020 to April 2021	The questionnaire used the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) to assess mental and physical QoL. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore factors associated with mental and physical QoL scores.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Aga Khan University; 🇵🇰 Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan