Journal of Infectious Diseases & Preventive Medicine
Open Access
ISSN: 2329-8731
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2329-8731
+44 1300 500008
Javier Romo-Garcia
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ENFERMEDADES RESPIRATORIAS(INER) MEXICO
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Infect Dis Preve Med
Background: Infection by SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with multiple symptoms; however, still, little is known about persistent symptoms and their probable association with the risk of developing pulmonary fibrosis in patients post-COVID-19. Methods: A longitudinal prospective study on health workers infected by SARS-CoV-2 was conducted. In this work, signs and symptoms were recorded of 149 health workers with a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 at the beginning of the diagnosis, during the active infection, and during post-COVID-19 follow-up. The McNemar chisquare test was used to compare the proportions and percentages of symptoms between the baseline and each follow-up period. Results: The signs and symptoms after follow-up were cardiorespiratory, neurological, and inflammatory. Gastrointestinal symptoms were unusual at the disease onset, but unexpectedly, their frequency was higher in the post-infection stage. The multivariate analysis showed that pneumonia (HR 2.4, IC95%: 1.5–3.8, p < 0.001) and positive PCR tests still after four weeks (HR 5.3, IC95%: 2.3-12.3, p < 0.001) were factors associated with the diagnosis of post-COVID19 pulmonary fibrosis in this study group. Conclusions: Our results showed that pneumonia and virus infection persistence were risk factors for developing pulmonary fibrosis post-COVID-19, after months of initial infection.
Dr Romo finished Internal Medicine and infectious disease specialist since 1989. He has completed her Master of Science at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia USA in 2003.