Long-term symptoms after COVID-19 infection
To determine the long-term effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection and time to
resolution of symptoms in asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients, we
prospectively collected symptom data from a cohort of SARS-CoV-2
positive patients (35 asthmatic and 76 non-asthmatic) over recurring
visits. The majority of patients (91%) reported initial symptoms from
COVID-19 infection (Figures 6A and 6B); less than 10% were asymptomatic
[3 (8.6%) asthmatic and 7 (9.2%) non-asthmatic patients]. The
percentage of patients reporting symptoms declined over an eight month
follow-up period in both groups. Most patients still reported symptoms
at 30 days (96.9% in asthmatic and 98.6% in non-asthmatic), 60 days
(84.4% in asthmatic and 89.9% in non-asthmatic), and 90 days (75% in
asthmatic and 76.8% in the non-asthmatic). The median follow-up time
was 141 days. There was no difference in time to resolution of symptoms
between the groups (Figure 6C, median: 215 days vs 133 days, log-rank
test p=0.40). Additionally, resolution of lower respiratory symptoms did
not differ between asthmatics and non-asthmatics (Figure 6D) with more
than 50% of both groups still reporting lower respiratory symptoms 90
days after initial symptoms. Persistent symptoms for individual
asthmatics were reported in all organ systems (Supplemental Figure 5).