Frequency of Fatigue Symptom and Associated Factors in Patients with COVID-19 Ýnfection

INTRODUCTION: Recently, an increasing number of publications in the literature have reported a series of prolonged neurological, cardiovascular, psychiatric and musculoskeletal symptoms after recovering from COVID-19, including particularly fatigue. This study seeks to evaluate fatigue symptoms in those infected by COVID-19.
METHODS: 82 volunteering and consecutive patients presenting to our clinic for follow-up checks after COVID-19 infection underwent evaluations for clinical and laboratory parameters, and received FAS (fatigue assessment scale).
RESULTS: The study included a total of 82 patients who had been infected by COVID-19, of whom 45 were male (54.9%) and 37 female (45.1%), with an average age of 55±15 years (min 22- max 87 age). In 35.4% of the cases, the disease had followed a severe/critical course, and in 64.6% mild/moderate. At the follow-up check, 65.9% (54 cases) were found to have mild fatigue and 18.3% (15 cases) severe fatigue according to the FAS fatigue scale. Severe fatigue was significantly more common in women than in men (29.7% vs. 8.9%, p=0.015). Those who were found to have fatigue at the follow-up check had significantly lower median hemoglobin levels (13.3 d/dl) at the time of presentation compared to the median hemoglobin levels of those without fatigue (14.2 g/dL). Fatigue was significantly more common in patients who had used low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for treatment than those who never received LMWH.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study shown that; patients with COVID-19 infection may complain of fatigue regardless of the severity of the disease and other co-morbidities.

COVID-19 Enfeksiyonu Geçiren Hastalarda Yorgunluk Semptomunun Sýklýðý ve Ýliþkili Faktörler

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Son zamanlarda, literatürde giderek artan sayýda yayýn, COVID-19'dan iyileþtikten sonra özellikle yorgunluk dahil olmak üzere bir dizi uzun süreli nörolojik, kardiyovasküler, psikiyatrik ve kas-iskelet sistemi semptomlarý bildirmiþtir. Bu çalýþmada COVID-19 enfeksiyonu geçirenlerde yorgunluk semptomunun deðerlendirilmesi amaçlandý.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Kliniðimizde takip edilen gönüllü ve ardýþýk 82 COVID-19 enfeksiyonu geçiren hastalara klinik ve laboratuvar parametrelerin kontrolü yanýnda FAS (fatigue assessment scale) yorgunluk deðerlendirme anketi uygulandý.
BULGULAR: Çalýþmaya yaþ ortalamalarý 55±15 yýl olan, 45 erkek (%54,9), 37 kadýn (%45,1) toplam 82 Covid-19 hastasý dâhil oldu. COVID-19 hastalarýnýn %35,4’ü aðýr/kritik, %64,6’ü hafif/orta þiddette olarak deðerlendirildi. Kontrol muayenesinde FAS yorgunluk skalasýna göre olgularýn %65,9’unda (54 olgu) hafif düzeyde, %18,3’ünde (15 olgu) þiddetli düzeyde yorgunluk tespit edildi. Þiddetli yorgunluk kadýnlarda erkeklerden anlamlý olarak daha sýk idi. (%29,7 e karþý %8,9, p=0,015). Kontrolde yorgunluk tespit edilenlerde baþvuru sýrasýndaki medyan hemoglobin düzeyi (13,3 d/dl), yorgunluk tespit edilmeyenlerin olgularýn medyan hemoglobin düzeylerinden (14,2 g/dL) anlamý olarak daha düþüktü. Tedavilerinde düþük molekül aðýrlýklý heparin (DMAH) kullanýlan hastalarda yorgunluk görülme sýklýðý hiç DMAH tedavisi almayanlardan anlamlý olarak fazlaydý.
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Bu çalýþmada elde edilen veriler COVID-19 enfeksiyonu geçirenlerde hastalýðýn þiddeti ve diðer ko-morbiditelerden baðýmsýz olarak uzun süre devam eden yorgunluk þikâyetinin görülebileceðini göstermektedir.