New symptoms, conditions may develop after positive test for SARS-CoV-2

(HealthDay)—The prevalence of certain symptoms and conditions is increased at 31 to 150 days following testing among individuals who test positive versus negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to a study published online Feb. 3 in JAMA Network Open.

Alfonso C. Hernandez-Romieu, M.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed aggregated electronic health record data for 338,024 persons aged younger than 20 years and 1,790,886 persons aged 20 years or older who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 during March to December 2020. The prevalence of new diagnoses of select symptoms and conditions was examined between 31 and 150 days after testing.

Overall, 168,701 persons aged 20 years or older and 26,665 aged younger than 20 years tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The researchers found that among hospitalized patients, shortness of breath was more common for persons with a positive versus negative test result (prevalence ratios, 1.89 and 1.72 for those aged 20 years or older and those younger than 20 years, respectively). Among nonhospitalized patients aged 20 years or older, shortness of breath was also more common for those with a positive versus negative test result (prevalence ratio, 1.09). Among hospitalized patients aged 20 years or older, those with a positive versus negative result had increased prevalence of new fatigue and type 2 diabetes (prevalence ratios, 1.35 and 2.03, respectively).

"These estimates highlight the need for health care professionals and patients to monitor for development of new symptoms and conditions beyond the first month after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly for individuals who required hospitalization for acute COVID-19," the authors write.