ArticleBMJ open2022
Incidence of post-COVID syndrome and associated symptoms in outpatient care in Bavaria, Germany: a retrospective cohort study using routinely collected claims data.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associated thromboembolic events to the post COVID syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Associations between SARS-CoV-2 infection and incidence of new chronic condition diagnoses: a systematic review.Emerging microbes & infections · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Care Pathways and Patient Experiences Among Patients With Post COVID-19 Condition: Study Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study in Germany.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- scRNA-seq reveals persistent aberrant differentiation of nasal epithelium driven by TNFα and TGFβ in post-COVID syndrome.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Predictive Ability of Previous Pain and Disease Conditions on the Presentation of Post-COVID Pain in a Danish Cohort of Adult COVID-19 Survivors.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Article
- Symptoms and Conditions in Children and Adults up to 90 Days after SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Retrospective Observational Study Utilizing the Common Data Model.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Incidence and risk factors of post COVID-19 syndrome: a Tunisian cohort study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- [Follow-up outpatient clinics for patients with post COVID: a survey to assess and characterize aspects of care].Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2024Article
- Two-Year Longitudinal Study Reveals That Long COVID Symptoms Peak and Quality of Life Nadirs at 6-12 Months Postinfection.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Impact of pre-existing mental health diagnoses on development of post-COVID and related symptoms: a claims data-based cohort study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Management of cognitive impairment associated with post-COVID-19 syndrome: recommendations for primary care.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Review
- Symptom Profiles of Children and Young People 12 Months after SARS-CoV-2 Testing: A National Matched Cohort Study (The CLoCk Study).Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between somatic symptom disorder and symptoms with daily life impairment after SARS-CoV-2 infection - results from a population-based cross-sectional study.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2023Article
- [Viral diseases of the nervous system-Selected new and old viruses].Der Nervenarzt · 2023Review
- A prospective cohort study assessing the relationship between long-COVID symptom incidence in COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 vaccination.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Acute and long-term immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in unvaccinated children and young adults with inborn errors of immunity.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo estimate the treatment incidence of post-COVID syndrome (postinfectious sequelae present at least 12 weeks following infection) in the context of ambulatory care in Bavaria, Germany, and to establish whether related diagnoses occur more frequently than in patients with no known history of COVID-19.
designRetrospective cohort analysis of routinely collected claims data.
settingAmbulatory care in Bavaria, Germany, observed from January 2020 to March 2022 (data accessed May 2022).
participants391 990 patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, 62 659 patients with other respiratory infection and a control group of 659 579 patients with no confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome is diagnosis of post-COVID syndrome documented in ambulatory care. Secondary outcomes are: chronic fatigue syndrome, psychological disorder, fatigue, mild cognitive impairment, disturbances of taste and smell, dyspnoea, pulmonary embolism and myalgia.
resultsAmong all patients with confirmed COVID-19, 14.2% (95% CI 14.0% to 14.5%) received a diagnosis of a post-COVID syndrome, and 6.7% (95% CI 6.5% to 6.9%) received the diagnosis in at least two quarterly periods during a 2-year follow-up. Compared with patients with other respiratory infections and with controls, patients with COVID-19 more frequently received a variety of diagnoses including chronic fatigue syndrome (1.6% vs 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively), fatigue (13.3% vs 9.2% and 6.0%), dyspnoea (9.9% vs 5.1% and 3.2%) and disturbances of taste and smell (3.2% vs 1.2% and 0.5%). The treatment incidence of post-COVID syndrome was highest among adults aged 40-59 (19.0%) and lowest among children aged below 12 years (2.6%).
conclusionsOur results demonstrate a moderately high incidence of post-COVID syndrome 2 years after COVID-19 diagnosis. There is an urgent need to find efficient and effective solutions to help patients with dyspnoea, fatigue, cognitive impairment and loss of smell. Guidelines and treatment algorithms, including referral criteria, and occupational and physical therapy, require prompt and coherent implementation.
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