Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This study investigated post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) sequelae among a sample of the Chinese population, and determined the statistical significance of correlations between age, sex, number of COVID-19 vaccinations, number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, development of pneumonia, use of specific drugs (namatevir/ritonavir, azvudine, molnupiravir), chronic underlying diseases, and post-COVID-19 sequelae. METHODS: Data from 869 patients, who visited the Emergency Department of Beijing Shijitan Hospital (Beijing, China) between December 7, 2022 to January 31, 2024, were collected. The criteria for admission: Age ≥ 14 years old, and diagnosed with ≥ 1 positive result on nucleic acid or antigen tests. Retrospectively analyzed the main manifestations of sequelae, statistical analysis of the relationship between age; sex; underlying diseases; number of COVID-19 vaccinations received; use of specific antiviral drugs for COVID-19 and prognosis, and statistical analyses, including logistic regression, were performed. Differences with P < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Before entering the model, variables are screened using stepwise regression to ensure that the selected variables are the main ones related to the research question, thereby controlling for confounding factors. SPSS version 27 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analysis. In this study, the duration of sequelae ranged from 2 to 13 months. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This study retrospectively analyzed 869 patients (415 male, 454 female), with an average age of 61.52 ± 23.09 years. There were 401 patients without underlying conditions and 468 patients with one or more underlying conditions. Regarding COVID-19 vaccination status, 320 patients were unvaccinated, while 576 patients received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, 514 patients received antiviral medication, while 355 did not receive antiviral treatment. The primary manifestations of post-COVID-19 included shortness of breath, dizziness and weakness, chronic pneumonia, asthma, and reduced sense of smell. Individuals ≥ 70 years of age were more prone to COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients with underlying disease(s) exhibited statistically higher mortality rates after diagnosis of COVID-19. Vaccination against COVID-19 and the use of specific drugs had a statistically significant effect on mortality and the occurrence of post-COVID-19 sequelae. There was no statistically significant difference in COVID-19 infection rates between males and females, although males were more prone to COVID-19 pneumonia. Young women with COVID-19 often experienced no sequelae, and elderly males exhibited a high mortality rate.