Long COVID in a prospective cohort of home isolation patients

Blomberg, B., Mohn, K. GI., Brokstad, KA etal. Long COVID in a prospective cohort of home isolation patients. Nat Med (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01433-3

Commentary

This research paper focuses on mild disease rather than reporting on cases of severe symptoms and prolonged hospitalization after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2019.

Long-term follow-up was conducted in a prospective cohort study of 312 patients (247 isolated at home and 65 hospitalized), 82% of all cases in the early stages of the pandemic in Norway.

At 6 months, 61% (189/312) of all patients were reported to have persistent symptoms, which were associated with initial disease severity, elevated antibody titers during recovery, and independence from pre-existing chronic lung disease. 52% (32/61) of young adults isolated at home aged 16-30 years had loss of taste or smell at 6 months (28%, 17/61). 52% (32/61) of young adults isolated at home between the ages of 16 and 30 showed symptoms such as loss of sense of taste and smell (28%, 17/61) and fatigue (21%) at 6 months. Dyspnea (13%, 8/61), difficulty concentrating (13%, 8/61) and memory impairment (11%, 7/61) were also reported in this way.