ArticlePLOS global public health2025
Parametric survival analysis of long COVID among hospitalized patients in Zambia: A retrospective cohort study on the time to symptoms resolving.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Long COVID refers to the continuation or emergence of new symptoms within three months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, lasting for at least two months. Although several studies have described COVID-19 sequelae, gaps remain in understanding the temporal dynamics of symptoms resolution - information crucial for patients management and recovery planning. This study evaluated the resolution of COVID-19-related symptoms over time and associated factors among hospitalized patients in Zambia. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among individuals discharged after COVID-19 hospitalization and attending follow-up care in 13 specialized clinics in Zambia from August-2020 to December-2022. Severe acute COVID-19 was defined as hospitalization requiring supplemental oxygen, ICU admission, and/or treatment with steroids/remdesivir. Time-to-symptoms resolution (i.e., survival time) and changes in underlying hazard rate were our primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. We estimated incidence rates, median survival time (onset-to-resolution), and factors associated with symptom resolution using survival analysis, including hazard ratios (HRs) and changes in the underlying hazard rate over time. Among 823 participants, 616 (84.3%) had severe acute COVID-19 illness; 50.6% were female, and median age was 54 years (IQR: 43-64). Overall, 597 (72.5%) had symptoms resolution at a median 51 person-days (IQR: 34-104). Most participants (59.4%) had baseline comorbidities, and 16.6% had received ≥1 COVID-19 vaccine dose. Symptoms resolved at a rate of 12.2 per 1,000 person-days. Severe acute COVID-19 was associated with slower symptom resolution (adjusted HR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.50-0.92), while infection during the Omicron-predominant period compared to wild-type was associated with faster resolution (aHR: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.46-5.03). The hazard rate peaked around person-day 20 and declined thereafter, indicating a non-monotonic recovery pattern. COVID-19 symptoms resolved more rapidly during the first month of post-acute infection. Patients with persistent symptoms not resolved within this period may experience prolonged recovery, underscoring the need for targeted follow-up and supportive care.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.