While the overall recovery rate of the coronavirus-19 disease is impressive, many patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have been diagnosed with the post-COVID-19 syndrome. This study aims to quantify the rates of organ specifying dysfunction in individuals admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.

This retrospective cohort study included data of 47,780 individuals who were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and discharged alive. The primary outcome of the study was a post-COVID syndrome, identified by post-discharge all-cause mortality and diagnoses of respiratory, cardiovascular, liver, and kidney diseases. Variations in age, sex, and ethnicity were also considered.

Over a mean follow-up of 140 days, nearly one-third of patients discharged from the hospital after acute COVID-19 were readmitted to the hospital (14,060), and more than one-tenth of the patients (5,875) died. These rates were four and ten times greater than in the control group. The order of complications in terms of more frequent incidence was a respiratory disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.  The rate ratios were greater for patients aged less than 70 compared to those aged 70 or more.

The research concluded that individuals discharged from the hospital after COVID-19 were at a higher risk of multiorgan dysfunction and mortality, and the risk was not confined to the elderly.

Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n693

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