Burden of respiratory morbidity amongst survivors of COVID-19 infection in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria

Oluwafemi Tunde Ojo 1 * , Olufunke Olayinka Adeyeye 1, Adeola Ajibare 1, Temitope Fapohunda 1
More Detail
1 Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
* Corresponding Author
J CLIN MED KAZ, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp. 14-18. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/13242
OPEN ACCESS 799 Views 533 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Background: COVID-19 disease is associated with long-term effects in some survivors. There exists dearth of information about the burden of respiratory morbidity among COVID-19 survivors in Nigeria. This study was designed to identify the common respiratory symptoms of long COVID-19 to educate and increase index of suspicion of healthcare practitioners caring for such patient for optimal care.
Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional survey that took place at the adult pulmonology clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja. The individuals who were treated for PCR confirmed COVID-19 infection referred for unresolved symptoms 4 weeks following discharge that consented were recruited. A proforma was used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, and comorbidities. The degree of dyspnea was assessed using MRC(Medical Research Council) dyspnea scale while the functional capacity of patients was assessed using Six-minute walk test (6mwt). The analysis of the data collected was done using descriptive statistics, and chi-square was used to test for association.
Results: Ninety-four subjects participated. The mean age of participants was 49.48±17.8 years, with male: female ratio of 1:1.1. The median duration of admission due to COVID-19 infection was 10.0 (7.0-15.8) days. The common symptoms were fatigue (85.1%), loss of smell (71.3%), dyspnea 53(56.4%), and Cough (62.8%). Dyspnea was present in 62.8% using the MRC dyspnea scale, while the 6-meter walk test showed inadequate functional capacity in 61.7%, and both showed significant association. (X2=18.606, P=0.001*)
Conclusion: Respiratory morbidity remains a significant post covid condition. There is a need to raise awareness amongst healthcare workers, particularly within the primary healthcare setting for early identification and referral of COVID-19 survivors with prolonged respiratory symptoms to pulmonology clinics for optimal care. There is also a need for further research on predictors of post COVID syndrome and treatment modalities.
Keywords: Post covid syndrome, long covid, post covid disease

CITATION

Ojo OT, Adeyeye OO, Ajibare A, Fapohunda T. Burden of respiratory morbidity amongst survivors of COVID-19 infection in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. J CLIN MED KAZ. 2023;20(3):14-8. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/13242

REFERENCES

  • Sudre CH, Murray B, Varsavsky T, Graham MS, Penfold RS, Bowyer RC, Pujol JC, Klaser K, Antonelli M, Canas LS, Molteni E. Attributes and predictors of long COVID. Nature medicine. 2021;27(4):626-31. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01292-y
  • Garrigues E, Janvier P, Kherabi Y, Le Bot A, Hamon A, Gouze H, et al. Post-discharge persistent symptoms and health-related quality of life after hospitalization for COVID-19. Journal of Infection. 2020;81(6):e4-e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.08.029
  • Xiong Q, Xu M, Li J, Liu Y, Zhang J, Xu Y, et al. Clinical sequelae of COVID-19 survivors in Wuhan, China: a single-centre longitudinal study. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2021;27(1):89-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.023
  • Yu M, Liu Y, Xu D, Zhang R, Lan L, Xu H. Prediction of the development of pulmonary fibrosis using serial thin-section CT and clinical features in patients discharged after treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia. Korean journal of radiology. 2020;21(6):746. https://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2020.0215
  • Kanne JP, Little BP, Schulte JJ, Haramati A, Haramati LB. Long-Term Lung Abnormalities Associated with COVID-19 Pneumonia. Radiology. 2022:221806. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.221806
  • Organization WH. COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update, edition 110, 21 September 2022. 2022. ID: who-362876
  • Post LA, Argaw ST, Jones C, Moss CB, Resnick D, Singh LN, et al. A SARS-CoV-2 surveillance system in Sub-Saharan Africa: modeling study for persistence and transmission to inform policy. Journal of medical Internet research. 2020;22(11):e24248. https://doi.org/10.2196/24248
  • Aduloju OTB, Bako AI, Anofi AO. Specifics knowledge links between COVID-19 and urban food systems in Nigeria. Contemporary Social Science. 2022;17(2):157-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2021.1955957
  • Osikomaiya B, Erinoso O, Wright KO, Odusola AO, Thomas B, Adeyemi O, et al. ‘Long COVID’: persistent COVID-19 symptoms in survivors managed in Lagos State, Nigeria. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2021;21(1):304. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-020-05716-x
  • Kotrlik J, Higgins C. Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size in survey research appropriate sample size in survey research. Information technology, learning, and performance journal. 2001;19(1):43. ID: 20001056824
  • Stenton C. The MRC breathlessness scale. Occupational Medicine. 2008;58(3):226-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqm162
  • Mahler DA, Wells CK. Evaluation of clinical methods for rating dyspnea. Chest. 1988;93(3):580-6. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.93.3.580
  • Holland AE, Spruit MA, Troosters T, Puhan MA, Pepin V, Saey D, et al. An official European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society technical standard: field walking tests in chronic respiratory disease. European Respiratory Journal. 2014;44(6):1428-46. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.00150314
  • Swigris JJ, Wamboldt FS, Behr J, du Bois RM, King TE, Raghu G, et al. The 6 minute walk in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: longitudinal changes and minimum important difference. Thorax. 2010;65(2):173-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.113498
  • Nalbandian A, Sehgal K, Gupta A, Madhavan MV, McGroder C, Stevens JS, et al. Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Nature medicine. 2021;27(4):601-15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01283-z
  • Yong SJ. Long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome: putative pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatments. Infectious diseases. 2021;53(10):737-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2021.1924397
  • Raveendran AV, Jayadevan R, Sashidharan S. Long COVID: An overview. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. 2021;15(3):869-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2021.04.007
  • Pazukhina E, Andreeva M, Spiridonova E, Bobkova P, Shikhaleva A, El-Taravi Y, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of post-COVID-19 condition in adults and children at 6 and 12 months after hospital discharge: a prospective, cohort study in Moscow (StopCOVID). BMC Medicine. 2022;20(1):244. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02448-4
  • Galal I, Hussein AARM, Amin MT, Saad MM, Zayan HEE, Abdelsayed MZ, et al. Determinants of persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms: value of a novel COVID-19 symptom score. The Egyptian Journal of Bronchology. 2021;15(1):10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43168-020-00049-4
  • Carvalho-Schneider C, Laurent E, Lemaignen A, Beaufils E, Bourbao-Tournois C, Laribi S, Flament T, Ferreira-Maldent N, Bruyère F, Stefic K, Gaudy-Graffin C. Follow-up of adults with noncritical COVID-19 two months after symptom onset. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2021;27(2):258-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.052
  • Curci C, Pisano F, Bonacci E, Camozzi DM, Ceravolo C, Bergonzi R, et al. Early rehabilitation in post-acute COVID-19 patients: data from an Italian COVID-19 Rehabilitation Unit and proposal of a treatment protocol. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2020:633-41. https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.20.06339-X
  • Anastasio F, Barbuto S, Scarnecchia E, Cosma P, Fugagnoli A, Rossi G, et al. Medium-term impact of COVID-19 on pulmonary function, functional capacity and quality of life. European Respiratory Journal. 2021;58(3):2004015. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.04015-2020
  • Wu X, Liu X, Zhou Y, Yu H, Li R, Zhan Q, et al. 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month respiratory outcomes in patients following COVID-19-related hospitalisation: a prospective study. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2021;9(7):747-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00174-0