How Long Is Long COVID? Evaluation of Long-Term Health Status in Individuals Discharged from a Specialist Community Long COVID Service.

Bodey, R.; Grimaldi, J.; Tait, H.; Godfrey, B.; Witton, S.; Shardha, J.; Tarrant, R.; Sivan, M.

How Long Is Long COVID? Evaluation of Long-Term Health Status in Individuals Discharged from a Specialist Community Long COVID Service.

All Authors

Bodey, R.

Grimaldi, J.

Tait, H.

Godfrey, B.

Witton, S.

Shardha, J.

Tarrant, R.

Sivan, M.

LTHT Author

Sivan, Manoj

LTHT Department

Musculoskeletal
Long COVID Rehabilitation Service
Rehabilitation

Publication Date

2024

Item Type

Journal Article

Abstract

Background: Post COVID-19 syndrome or long COVID (LC) is a novel fluctuating condition with a protracted course in some patients. Specialist LC services have been operational in the UK since 2020 and deal with a high caseload of patients. Aims: To evaluate long-term outcomes in patients discharged from a community-based LC specialist service. Methods: A service evaluation study that included patients who were well engaged in the services [completed the standard Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and received intervention from clinician(s)] and had been discharged for at least 3 months from the service. They consented to the study and completed standard PROMs: COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS), EQ-5D-5L and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) criteria for myalgia encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Results: Out of 460 patients contacted, 112 (average of 37.6 months since infection and 9.8 months post-discharge) completed the PROMs. Of these, 90.2% patients continued to experience LC symptoms and disability and had not returned to their pre-COVID-19 health status. The average EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.53 (SD 0.29), highlighting a significant disability and that LC had become a long-term condition (LTC) in the majority of patients who responded to the survey. Of these patients, 43% met the criteria for suspected ME/CFS. Conclusions: A proportion of LC patients develop persistent long COVID (PLC) consistent with a LTC and had a significant overlap with ME/CFS.