HEALTH OUTCOMES AND FACTORS AFFECTING LONG COVID-19 OF PATIENTS IN TAKHLI HOSPITAL, NAKHON SAWAN

Abstract

This analytical observational study was conducted at Takhli Hospital, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, to review the symptoms, quality of life and other factors of 150 individuals who had COVID-19. Then, a between-group comparison was made of these same individuals who, subsequently, developed symptoms of long COVID-19. Symptomatic data was collected using the hospital’s medical records and on a questionnaire that was administered through telephone interviews. The participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 (129 individuals) who did not experience long COVID-19 and Group 2 (21 individuals) who experienced long COVID-19. The most common symptoms of long COVID-19 were cough (47.62%), dyspnea (19.05%), and fatigue (14.29%). The EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) revealed that the group with long COVID-19 had lower average EQ-VAS scores and utility values compared to the group without long COVID-19. The average EQ-VAS score for the long COVID-19 group was 71.90 ± 6.93, and the utility value was 0.68 ± 0.12. Whereas, the EQ-VAS score for the group without long COVID-19 was 95.14 ± 4.51, and the utility value was 0.95 ± 0.06. Risk factors associated with long COVID-19 were analyzed using binary logistic regression. The model had an accuracy of 86%. Statistically significant risk factors (p<0.05) associated with long COVID-19 included underlying diseases and the severity of illness during the COVID-19 infection. Individuals with underlying diseases were 5.92 times more likely to experience long COVID-19 compared to those without underlying diseases. Similarly, individuals with a moderate to severe illness during COVID-19 infection were 12.59 times more likely to develop long COVID-19 compared to those with a mild illness.