This study was carried out by Dr. Viet-Thi Tran, epidemiologist (Université Paris Cité / AP-HP), with 2,197 patients from the "ComPare" cohort suffering from long Covid, followed regularly. His findings were published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, intermittent fever, loss of taste or smell, difficulty concentrating, depression... Long Covid manifests itself as one or more symptoms from a long list, usually within three months of infection and persisting for at least two months.

It is not a single "disease" but a complex syndrome resulting from multiple mechanisms often entangled, which explains the complex and often heterogeneous clinical picture of patients, recalls the AP-HP in a press release. According to the study, about 90% of people with long-term Covid still report symptoms a year after their initial infection.

The researchers were able to identify three trajectories in the patients. The overwhelming majority (91%) had a slow improvement in their symptoms over time (with an average reduction of about 25% in the number of symptoms reported within 2 years of their onset).

About 4% of patients had rapid improvement in their symptoms (with complete remission of symptoms within two years of onset). Compared to other patients, these people were younger and had no history of functional disease (chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.). These patients had more frequent neck, back and lumbar pain and digestive symptoms during their acute illness.

About 5% of patients, conversely, had significant and persistent symptoms over time. These patients were generally older, smokers and had a history of autoimmune disease. They had symptoms of tachycardia, bradycardia, palpitations, arrhythmias, hot flashes, sweating and intolerance to cold and heat more frequently during their acute illness.

These results will make it possible to better inform patients of the evolution of their long covid and to better estimate the needs of the health system to meet the challenge of long Covid, welcomes the AP-HP.

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