• David Zuschlag, Daniel Grandt, Florian Custodis, Christian Braun, and Winfried Häuser.
• Innere Medizin 1, Klinikum Saarbrücken, Winterberg 1, 66119, Saarbrücken, Germany.
• Schmerz. 2022 Oct 1; 36 (5): 315-325.

BackgroundThere are no outcome studies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors one year after hospital discharge in Germany.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included all patients with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) hospitalized in the departments of internal medicine of the Klinikum Saarbrücken, a tertiary care hospital, between March 15 and December 31, 2020. A telephone interview with survivors was conducted at least 12 months after discharge. The interview was initiated with an open-ended question whether the patient had fully recovered from the disease. In the event of a subjective incomplete recovery, the patient was prompted to report any continuous or frequent symptoms that had not occurred prior to COVID-19. Finally, independent of the open-ended question response, all patients were asked closed questions which addressed new symptom onset of persistent fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, headache, muscle and joint pain following COVID-19.ResultsIn all, 235 survivors were contacted and 162 could be included in the analysis. In 55 of 162 interviews (34.0%) at least one persistent COVID-19 symptom (PCS) was spontaneously reported. Four of 55 survivors with PCS reported five additional symptoms on the closed questions. One survivor, who responded positively to the open-ended question, reported new onset PCS in response to the closed questions. Physical fatigue (24.7%), cognitive dysfunction (14.8%), shortness of breath (8.6%), muscle and joint pain (6.8%) and headache (6.2%) were the most frequently reported PCS.ConclusionsDespite an interview technique aimed to reduce attribution bias by patients, one third of COVID-19 inpatient survivors report PCS one year after hospitalization. The complete article is written in English.© 2022. The Author(s).

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