Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in residents in long-term care homes: Examining symptoms and recovery over time

Abstract

Background Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) has been studied extensively since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the population of long-term care (LTC) home residents, however, information about PCC and recovery after the acute phase of COVID-19 is lacking. This study contributes evidence about symptoms over time in 459 residents in nine Canadian LTC homes. Methods In a comprehensive retrospective chart review, we recorded medical symptoms in a 4-week period before contracting COVID-19 (“PRE-COVID”) and during 24 weeks after contracting infection (a 4-week “ACUTE-COVID” period and five subsequent 4-week periods “POST1–5”). We investigated the number and type of symptoms over time, examined different “recovery trajectories”, and compared the characteristics of residents across different trajectories. Results In the sample overall, the number of different symptoms increased from PRE-COVID to ACUTE-COVID (mean difference of 3 symptoms, p