(Open access funding provided by Semmelweis University)
Az orvos-, egészségtudományi- és gyógyszerészképzés tudományos műhelyeinek fejlesztése(EFOP-3.6.3-VEKOP-16-2017-00009)
Támogató: EFOP-VEKOP
Acute infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns (VOCs) differ in clinical presentation.
Discrepancies in their long-term sequelae, commonly referred to as long COVID, however,
remain to be explored. We retrospectively analyzed data of 287 patients presented
at the post-COVID care of the Pulmonology Department, Semmelweis University, Budapest,
Hungary, and infected with SARS-CoV-2 during a period of 3 major epidemic waves in
Hungary (February–July 2021, VOC: B.1.1.7, Alpha, N = 135; August–December 2021, VOC:
B.1.617.2, Delta, N = 89; and January–June 2022, VOC: B.1.1.529, Omicron; N = 63),
> 4 weeks after acute COVID-19. Overall, the ratio of long COVID symptomatic (LC)
and asymptomatic (NS) patients was 2:1. Self-reported questionnaires on fatigue (Fatigue
Severity Scale, FSS), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, ESS) and sleep quality
(Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) showed higher scores for LC (4.79 ± 0.12, 7.45
± 0.33 and 7.46 ± 0.27, respectively) than NS patients (2.85 ± 0.16, 5.23 ± 0.32 and
4.26 ± 0.29, respectively; p < 0.05 for all vs. LC). By comparing data of the three
waves, mean FSS and PSQI scores of LC patients, but not ESS scores, exceeded the normal
range in all, with no significant inter-wave differences. Considering FSS ≥ 4 and
PSQI > 5 cutoff values, LC patients commonly exhibited problematic fatigue (≥ 70%)
and poor sleep quality (> 60%) in all three waves. Comparative analysis of PSQI component
scores of LC patients identified no significant differences between the three waves.
Our findings highlight the importance of concerted efforts to manage both fatigue
and sleep disturbances in long COVID patient care. This multifaceted approach should
be followed in all cases infected with either VOCs of SARS-CoV-2.