COVID-19 LONG TERM EFFECTS AND LIFE QUALITY

Abstract

Symptoms, signs, or abnormal clinical parameters persisting two or more weeks after COVID-19 onset that do not return to a healthy baseline can potentially be considered long-term effects of the disease. Management of all these effects requires further understanding to design individualized, dynamic cross-sectoral interventions in Post-COVID-19 clinics with multiple specialties, including graded exercise, physical therapy, frequent medical evaluations, and cognitive behavioral therapy when required.  The e-research was conducted at Facebook group and involved patients with PCR test confirmed COVID-19 one month ago or earlier, with still persisting symptoms. The tasks of the study were to evaluate the main symptoms of prolonged COVID-19 and symptoms, mostly effecting the life quality of respondents; to identify impact on physical, psychoemotional health and social life of respondents; to reveal the awareness about rehabilitation and need for it. The results revealed that the prevailing symptoms of prolonged COVID-19 were fatigue, olfactory disorders, headache, body pains and taste disorders. The life quality effecting symtoms were fatigue, headache and body pains, exhaustion, nervousness and sadness. More than half of respondents had the reduced work capacity and daily activities, less than half of respondents had worsened life quality due to psychoemotional impairments, more than one third – due to physical health and social life impairments. The majority of respondents were not aware about possibility of primary outpatient rehabilitation, more than two thirds require such rehabilitation and only few were administered after active hospital treatment.