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From Acute Phase to Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Epidemiological Profile and Clinical Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Employees at a Pediatric Hospital
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in Brazil on 26 February 2020. By 6 May 2023, 37.4 million cases had been confirmed, causing 701 thousand deaths in the country. We aimed to describe the epidemiological profile and clinical development of COVID-19 cases among the em...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10342319/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37445359 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134325 |
Sumario: | Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in Brazil on 26 February 2020. By 6 May 2023, 37.4 million cases had been confirmed, causing 701 thousand deaths in the country. We aimed to describe the epidemiological profile and clinical development of COVID-19 cases among the employees of a health institution, from acute infection to long COVID. Methods: This was a longitudinal study using a retrospective and prospective approach via questionnaires referring to epidemiological investigation, which was the inclusion criteria, and about long-term symptoms. Results: A total of 809 employees were detected with SARS-CoV-2 infection via RT-PCR, 466 of them answered the epidemiological investigation, and 101 completed the Long COVID Symptom Questionnaire. The most commonly affected employees were women (88.6%) working in patient care (68.6%). Headache, myalgia, cough, odynophagia, and runny nose were the most frequent symptoms. Only three employees (0.6%) required hospitalization, while the other employees required outpatient management due to mild symptoms. We identified 19 (4.1%) cases of reinfection, and 42 (41.6%) employees reported long-term symptoms, such as myalgia, dyspnea, and headache. Conclusions: Although most cases were mild with good outcomes, long COVID cases identified are noteworthy, as these symptoms may impact quality of life even months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. |
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