Fernández-de-las-Peñas, César, Pellicer-Valero, Oscar J., Navarro-Pardo, Esperanza, Palacios-Ceña, Domingo, Florencio, Lidiane L., Guijarro, Carlos, and Martín-Guerrero, José D.
- This multicentre study included 1,969 COVID-19 hospitalized patients. - A higher number of onset symptoms were associated with more symptoms after COVID - Dyspnea and headache symptoms at onset are associated with symptoms after COVID. This multicenter study investigated clinical risk factors associated with the number of long-term symptoms after COVID. Clinical features, symptoms at hospital admission, hospitalization data, and the number of symptoms after COVID was systematically assessed for patients who recovered from COVID-19 in 4 hospitals in Madrid (Spain) from February 20 to May 31, 2020. Overall, 1,969 patients (46.5% women, age: 61, SD: 16 years) were randomly assessed 8.4 months (SD 1.5) after hospital discharge. Female gender (odds ratio [OR] 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.57-2.10), number of morbidities (OR 1.182, 95% CI 1.08-1.29), number of symptoms at hospital admission (OR 1.309, 95% CI 1.15-1.49) and days at the hospital (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.007-1.017) were associated (all, p <0.001) with more long-term symptoms after COVID. Further, vomiting (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.26-2.52), throat pain (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.02-1.81), diarrhea (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.25-1.82), dyspnea (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.41), or headache (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.28-1.75) as symptoms at hospital admission were also associated (all, p <0.01) with a higher number of symptoms after COVID. This multicenter study found that a higher number of symptoms at hospital admission were the most relevant risk factor for developing more symptoms after COVID, supporting the assumption that a higher symptom load at the acute phase is associated with a greater likelihood of long-term symptoms after COVID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]