Fatigue is the most common persistent symptom of COVID-19 in different variants of the virus

A group of researchers from the Rey Juan Carlos University, and in collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid, compared the symptom variants of SARS-CoV-2which presented itself at the beginning and six months later in three groups of patients infected with the variants – Wuhan, Alpha and Delta – and which in all cases required hospitalization.

The first phase of research had more symptom persistent, which continues the downward trend in different versions and with progressive vaccination, as the main conclusion, is the fatiguea symptom that affects patients in a similar proportion regardless of the version of the virus.

“By remaining constant across the variants, it can be one of the key clinical criteria to define this disease,” explains César Fernández de las Peñas, professor in the Department of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine at URJC. , The quantity of symptom “It is difficult to establish a single diagnostic criterion,” he adds.

Variant patients, Wuhan, had more symptom in the acute phase, than the rest of the versions, with symptoms such as fever, dyspnea and symptom gastrointestinal, feel more common; but in the case of the variant, Delta, there were more headaches and anosmia – loss of smell –.

Fernández de las Peñas, affirms that “the presence of anosmia in the Delta variant determines that we should not speak of an influenza infection of the SARS-CoV-2. These differences have been observed clinically throughout the different waves, but we were the first to compare them systematically”.

The researchers analyzed data from 200 patients while they were hospitalized.

Thanks to a telephone follow-up, after six months of acute state, telephone interviews were carried out to know the situation and the symptomatology of these people after their admission.

The fatigueshowed similar persistence in all three patient groups, although there were several symptom with all variants of the virus.

Patients infected with the variant, Wuhan, had a higher number of symptom persistent, three symptomatic conditions, compared to the rest of the variants, which presented two symptomof the general study, dyspnea was the most common, patients infected with, Delta, reported as the predominant symptom, alopecia.

“It seems that the incidence of persistent covid may decrease over time and in the presence of new variants like omicron, probably conditioned by vaccination. But it remains a serious problem given the large number of infections that occur, ”concludes Juan Torres Macho, researcher in the Department of Medicine at UCM and co-author of the work.

Source consulted here.