Predictors for long COVID and differences in long COVID-symptoms, findings on chest imaging and pulmonary function between hospitalized COVID-19 patients with versus without ICU admission.

Introduction Many COVID-19 survivors suffer from persisting sequelae after acute disease. This is referred to as Long COVID. The objective of this study was to assess factors associated with Long COVID and to analyze differences in persistent symptoms, findings on chest imaging and pulmonary function between intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU hospitalized patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective study including patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Patients were stratified into ICU patients and non-ICU patients. We analyzed the outcomes of patients who were in clinical follow-up six months after discharge with persistent symptoms, radiological and/or functional abnormalities.. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between Long COVID and patient characteristics. Results A total of 549 patients were included. Eighty-one ICU patients (66%) and 146 (34%) non-ICU patients had persistent symptoms or abnormalities on chest imaging or lung function test minimally six months after discharge. Significantly more ICU patients had residual fibrotic abnormalities on chest-CT and functional impairment. Female gender, myocardial infarction, OSAS, low PCO2 at admission and longer hospital stay were associated with a higher risk of developing Long COVID. Diabetes and treatment with tociluzimab were associated with a lower risk of developing Long COVID. Conclusion Of the patients hospitalized for COVID-19 34-66 percent suffered from persistent symptoms, residual abnormalities on chest imaging or reduced lung function at around six months after discharge. While persistent sequelae were more frequent in ICU patients, admission to the ICU was not found to be an independent risk factor for developing Long COVID.