Post-COVID-19 functional status: Relation to age, smoking, hospitalization, and previous comorbidities

RATIONAL: Recently, a new “Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) scale” is recommended in the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is proposed that it could be used to display direct retrieval and the functional sequelae of COVID-19. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to assess the PCFS and to evaluate if age, gender, smoking, hospitalization, and comorbidities have any effect on functional limitations in recovered COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A total of 444 registered confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. They were interviewed in our follow-up clinics and filled an Arabic translated PCFS scale as well as their demographic and clinical data. RESULTS: Eighty percent of COVID-19 recovered cases have diverse degrees of functional restrictions ranging from negligible (63.1%), slight (14.4%), moderate (2%), to severe (0.5%) based on PCFS. Furthermore, there was a substantial variance between the score of PCFS with age (P = 0.003), gender (P = 0.014), the duration since the onset of the symptoms of COVID-19 (P < 0.001), need for oxygen supplementation (P < 0.001), need for intensive care unit (ICU) admittance (P = 0.003), previous periodic influenza vaccination (P < 0.001), smoking status (P < 0.001), and finally, the presence of any comorbid disorder (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the COVID-19 recovered cases have diverse degrees of functional restrictions ranging from negligible to severe based on PCFS. These restrictions were affected by age, gender, periodic influenza vaccination, smoking, duration since symptoms onset, need for oxygen or ICU admittance, and finally the presence of coexisting comorbidity.