Introduction: Few studies have evaluated the presence of Post COVID-19 conditions (PCC) in people from Latin America, a region that has been heavily afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we describe the frequency, co-occurrence, predictors, and duration of 23 symptoms in a cohort of Mexican patients with PCC.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled and followed adult patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 at a tertiary care centre in Mexico City. The incidence of PCC symptoms was determined using questionnaires. Unsupervised clustering of PCC symptom co-occurrence and Kaplan-Meier analyses of symptom persistence were performed. The effect of baseline clinical characteristics was evaluated using Cox regression models and reported with hazard ratios (HR).
Results: We found that amongst 192 patients with PCC, respiratory problems were the most prevalent and commonly co-occurred with functional activity impairment. 56% had ≥5 persistent symptoms. Symptom persistence probability at 360 days 0.78. Prior SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection during the Delta variant wave were associated with a shorter duration of PCC. Male sex was associated with a shorter duration of functional activity impairment and respiratory symptoms. Hypertension and diabetes were associated with a longer duration of functional impairment. Previous vaccination accelerated PCC recovery.
Discussion: In our cohort, PCC symptoms were frequent (particularly respiratory and neurocognitive ones) and persistent. Importantly, prior SARS-CoV-2 vaccination resulted in a shorter duration of PCC.
Keywords: Mexico; SARS-CoV-2; long COVID; persistent COVID; post-COVID-19 conditions.
Copyright © 2023 Núñez, Gillard, Fragoso-Saavedra, Feyaerts, Islas-Weinstein, Gallegos-Guzmán, Valente-García, Meyerowitz, Kelly, Chen, Ganio, Benkendorff, Flores-Gouyonnet, Dammann-Beltrán, Heredia-González, Rangel-Gutiérrez, Blish, Nadeau, Nolan, Crispín, McIlwain, Gaudillière and Valdés-Ferrer.