• Carlos Tajer, María José Martínez, Javier Mariani, Maximiliano De Abreu, and Laura Antonietti.
• Departamento de Cardiología, Hospital de Alta Complejidad Néstor Carlos Kirchner, Florencio Varela, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: ctajer@gmail.com.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2023 Jan 1; 83 (5): 669682669-682.

BackgroundThe evolution of post COVID syndrome has been variable and we lack information on its impact on healthcare professionals, particularly in Latin America.MethodsWe conducted a survey through a social network in health professionals on post COVID-19 syndrome cases confirmed with PCR. In a web-based questionnaire, we asked about 21 symptoms, their severity, duration, degree of activity impairment and return to work.Results4673 health professionals from 21 countries responded, mean age of 47.8 years, 64.2% women. The initial course was asymptomatic in 9.1%, mild symptoms 36.8%, moderate symptoms without hospitalization 40.8% or with hospitalization 11.7%, and severe symptoms with respiratory assistance 1.6%. The most prevalent symptoms were fatigue (67%), insomnia (44.2%), anxiety (42.3%), myalgia (41.9%) and anosmia (41.2%). Considering only severe symptoms (grades 3-4 on a subjective index from 1 to 4), the most prevalent were slowness (36.3%), impaired concentration (33.1%), anosmia (20.4%), fatigue (19.1%), impaired memory (18.1%) and dyspnea (15.9%). Prevalence dropped by half in the first 5 five months, but in many cases, it lasted for more than a year. In the multivariate analysis, symptoms tended to be grouped into clusters (cognitive, neuropsychiatric, cardiorespiratory, digestive, others). The need to change the work area was 16% and lack of return to work 7.8%, related to older age, number of symptoms and severity of the initial course.ConclusionIn conclusion, in many cases the persistence of post-COVID symptoms can be prolonged and have an occupational impact on healthcare professionals, requiring the adoption of specific policies to reduce harm.

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