Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 23, 2021

Health Care Utilization and Clinical Characteristics of Nonhospitalized Adults in an Integrated Health Care System 28 – 180 Days After COVID-19 Diagnosis — Georgia, May 2020–March 2021

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  • Among adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 who were not hospitalized and who were enrolled in an integrated health system in Georgia, approximately two thirds had at least 1 outpatient medical encounter 28–180 days after diagnosis, and approximately two thirds of these persons received a new primary diagnosis at one or more visits. New diagnoses included cough, shortness of breath, chest or throat pain, and fatigue, which the authors suggest likely represent ongoing COVID-19 symptoms and are consistent with other reports of patient-reported symptoms months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. COVID-19–related visits declined from 24 per 10,000 person-days during the 28–59-day interval to fewer than two per 10,000 person-days during the 120–180-day interval. However, whether the number of visits among non-hospitalized adults 28–180 days after COVID-19 diagnosis is higher compared with adults without COVID-19 remains unclear.

March et al. (2021). Health Care Utilization and Clinical Characteristics of Nonhospitalized Adults in an Integrated Health Care System 28 – 180 Days After COVID-19 Diagnosis — Georgia, May 2020–March 2021. MMWR. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7017e3.htm