May 21, 2021

Risk of Clinical Sequelae after the Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Retrospective Cohort Study

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics, sequelae

• A large retrospective cohort study of US adults aged 18-65 enrolled in commercial insurance (N=9,247,505) found that 14% of individuals with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection developed at least 1 new clinical sequala requiring medical care after the acute phase of COVID-19 disease. In comparison, 9% of persons without SARS-CoV-2 infection and 13% of persons with a non-COVID related lower respiratory tract illness (influenza, non-bacterial pneumonia, bronchitis, or COPD with lower respiratory infection) developed clinical sequalae. The risk for incident sequalae increased with age, pre-existing conditions, and hospitalization for the acute COVID-19 episode. 

Daugherty et al. (May 19, 2021). Risk of Clinical Sequelae after the Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Retrospective Cohort Study. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1098