ArticleThe European journal of general practice2023
Initial symptoms and three months follow-up after acute COVID-19 in outpatients: An international prospective cohort study.
Article in The European journal of general practice, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the association of respiratory infection aetiology with mental well-being scores: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Lingering symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19 - a prospective survey study of symptom expression and effects on mental health in Germany.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis.International journal of MS care · 2024Article
- Analysis of influencing factors on long COVID in COVID-19 patients infected with omicron variant three months after discharge: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- A 'special issue on COVID-19'. Fourteen primary care publications with implications for practice, teaching, and research.The European journal of general practice · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 11 institutions in 10 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost studies on long-term follow-up of patients with COVID-19 focused on hospitalised patients. No prospective study with structured follow-up has been performed in non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19.
objectivesTo assess long-COVID and post-COVID (WHO definition: symptomatic at least 12 weeks), describe lingering symptoms, their impact on daily activities, and general practice visits and explore risk factors for symptom duration in outpatients.
methodsA prospective study of adult outpatients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 in 11 European countries, recruited during 2020 and 2021 from primary care and the community. Structured follow-up by phone interviews (symptom rating, symptom impact on daily activities and general practice visits) was performed at weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12 by study personnel. Data was analysed descriptively by using correlation matrixes and Cox regression.
resultsOf 270 enrolled patients, 52% developed long-COVID and 32% post-COVID-syndrome. When only considering the presence of moderate or (very) severe symptoms at weeks 8 and 12, these percentages were 28% and 18%, respectively. Fatigue was the most often reported symptom during follow-up. The impact of lingering symptoms was most evident in sports and household activities. About half (53%) had at least one general practice contact during follow-up. Obese patients took twice as long to return to usual health (HR: 0.5, 95%CI: 0.3-0.8); no other risk profile could predict lingering symptoms.
conclusionLong-COVID and post-COVID are also common in outpatients. In 32%, it takes more than 12 weeks to return to usual health.
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