• Kelly Terlizzi, Eric Kutscher, and Yuliya Yoncheva.
• From the Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY (KT); Internal Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY (EK); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY (YY).
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2021 Sep 1; 34 (5): 1014-1016.

IntroductionCOVID-19 affects multiple organ systems causing substantial long-term morbidity. The implications of the Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly for primary care, remain unknown. This cross-sectional study examines new symptoms reported at primary care encounters during three post-acute follow-up intervals after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection.MethodsElectronic health record data from the NYU Langone COVID Deidentified Dataset were queried for adults with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, and then restricted to those with a new ICD-10-CM code documented at a post-acute COVID-related primary care follow-up >14 days after testing positive. New diagnoses and the corresponding Clinical Classifications Software Refined categories were assessed at the following intervals: 0.5-3 months ("subacute"), 3-6 months ("prolonged"), and 6-9 months ("persistent").ResultsOut of 3,154 patients, a new ICD-10-CM code was documented among 499 patients (∼16%). Respiratory complaints, including cough, shortness of breath, dyspnea, and hypoxemia, were most common. Malaise and fatigue were reported consistently among 10-13% of patients at all three time-intervals. Musculoskeletal pain, circulatory symptoms, and sleep-wake disorders were also observed at primary care follow-up.ConclusionThis cross-sectional study provides support of a post-acute COVID syndrome, demonstrating that patients continue to experience symptoms after the acute infection period. Extensive follow-up data allowed for examining new symptoms up to 9 months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding of the course of multi-organ post-acute sequelae is restricted by cross-sectional study design limitations. Standardized, sequelae-related ICD-10-CM codes to specify the type and duration of post-acute COVID-related symptoms would enable better monitoring of the growing number of SARS-CoV-2 infection survivors.© Copyright 2021 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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