For a study, researchers sought to evaluate the timing of the initial COVID-19 among patients who self-reported having post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Using the chi-squared test, they examined the distribution of the reported first COVID-19 date among patients with self-reported PASC and the COVID-19 cases in France between the earlier period (May 12, 2020-June 30, 2021) and the first wave (January 1-May 11, 2020). Using historical modeling of the COVID-19 burden in France for the first time period and positive RT-PCR testing for the second, COVID-19 cases in France were evaluated. The study comprised 567 PASC patients (median age, 44; range, 37 to 50); 83.4% were female. Total patient reports of a first COVID-19 infection were 293 (51.7%) in the first period and 272 (48%) in the second (missing data, n = 2; 0.3%). During the initial pandemic wave, patients with PASC were 82% more likely to report their first case of COVID-19 than they were later (OR 1.82, 95% CI [1.55-2.15]; P<0.0001). The significance of non-viral factors in the development of PASC is indicated by the fact that the incidence of self-reported PASC was much higher when initial COVID-19 occurred during the first pandemic wave, as opposed to later on in the pandemic.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40121-022-00698-6
