Impact of long-COVID on health-related quality of life in Japanese COVID-19 patients

BACKGROUND: The empirical basis for a quantitative assessment of the disease burden imposed by long-COVID is currently scant. We aimed to inform the disease burden caused by long-COVID in Japan. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional self-report questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was mailed to 526 eligible patients, who were recovered from acute COVID-19 in April 2021. Answers were classified into two groups; participants who have no symptom and those who have any ongoing prolonged symptoms that lasted longer than four weeks at the time of the survey. We estimated the average treatment effect (ATE) of ongoing prolonged symptoms on EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-3L questionnaire using inverse probability weighting. In addition to symptom prolongation, we investigated whether other factors (including demography, lifestyle, and acute severity) were associated with low EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-3L values, by multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: 349 participants reported no symptoms and 108 reported any symptoms at the time of the survey. The participants who reported any symptoms showed a lower average value on the EQ-VAS (69.9 vs 82.8, respectively) and on the EQ-5D-3L (0.85 vs 0.96, respectively) than those reporting no symptoms considering the ATE of ongoing prolonged symptoms. The ATE of ongoing prolonged symptoms on EQ-VAS was − 12.9 [95% CI − 15.9 to − 9.8], and on the EQ-5D-3L it was − 0.11 [95% CI − 0.13 to − 0.09], implying prolonged symptoms have a negative impact on patients’ EQ-VAS and EQ-5D-3L score. In multivariable linear regression, only having prolonged symptoms was associated with lower scores (− 11.7 [95% CI − 15.0 to − 8.5] for EQ-VAS and − 0.10 [95% CI − 0.13 to − 0.08] for EQ-5D-3L). CONCLUSIONS: Due to their long duration, long-COVID symptoms represent a substantial disease burden expressed in impact on health-related quality of life

Factors associated with development and persistence of post-COVID conditions : a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: The post-COVID condition has become a social concern. Although the patient characteristics associated with the development of this condition are partially known, those associated with its persistence have not been identified. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey among patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and visited the National Center for Global Health and Medicine between February 2021 and March 2021. Demographic and clinical data, and data regarding the presence and duration of post-COVID conditions were obtained. We identified factors associated with the development and persistence of post-COVID conditions using multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses, respectively. RESULTS: We analyzed 457 of 526 responses (response rate, 86.9%). The median patient age was 47 years. Of these, 378 patients (84.4%) had mild disease in the acute phase. The number of patients with symptoms at 6 and 12 months after onset or diagnosis was 120 (26.3%) and 40 (8.8%), respectively. Women were at risk of developing fatigue (odds ratio [OR]: 2.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31–3.14), dysosmia (OR: 1.91, 95%CI: 1.24–2.93), dysgeusia (OR: 1.56, 95%CI: 1.02–2.39), hair loss (OR: 3.00, 95%CI: 1.77–5.09), and persistence of any symptoms (coefficient: 38.0, 95%CI: 13.3–62.8). Younger age and low body mass index were factors for developing dysosmia (OR: 0.96, 95%CI: 0.94–0.98 and OR: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.89–0.99, respectively) and dysgeusia (OR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.96–1.00 and OR: 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88–0.98, respectively). CONCLUSION: We identified factors involved in the development and persistence of post-COVID conditions. Many patients, even those with mild conditions, experience long-term residual symptoms

Ancylostoma ceylanicum, novel etiological agent for traveler’s diarrhea—report of four Japanese patients who returned from Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea

Abstract Background Countries in the Southeast Asia region have a high prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth, such as roundworm, whipworm, and hookworms [Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma ceylanicum]. Recent molecular-based surveys have revealed that A. ceylanicum, a zoonotic hookworm, is likely the second most prevalent hookworm species infecting humans in that part of the world, while others have noted that this infection is an emerging public health risk not only for indigenous people but also for visitors from other countries. Case presentation We recently encountered four cases of A. ceylanicum infection in Japanese individuals who returned from Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. Case 1 was a 25-year-old male who stayed in a rainforest in Malaysia for 4 weeks, where he developed abdominal pain and diarrhea in the third week. Eleven adult worms (five males, six females) were expelled after treatment with pyrantel pamoate and identified as A. ceylanicum based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene. Case 2 was a 26-year-old male who spent 2 years as an overseas cooperation volunteer for agriculture in Papua New Guinea. He did not note any symptoms at that time, though eggs were detected in feces samples at a medical check-up examination after returning. Although collection of adult worms was unsuccessful, DNA analysis of the eggs for cox1 and the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 and ITS-2 genes demonstrated that they were A. ceylanicum. Case 3 was a 47-year-old male who spent 1 month in a rural village in Lao People’s Democratic Republic and began suffering from watery diarrhea from the third week. A total of nine adult worms (three males, six females) were collected by endoscopic procedures and following treatment with pyrantel pamoate. Morphological examination and molecular analyses of the cox1 gene showed that they were A. ceylanicum. Case 4 was a 27-year-old male who participated in group travel to India for 5 days. Three weeks after returning, he developed abdominal pain and diarrhea. Hookworm eggs were found in feces samples and developed into larvae in culture, which were identified as A. ceylanicum based on molecular analysis of the cox1 gene. Eosinophilia was observed in all of the cases prior to treatment. Conclusions A. ceylanicum should be recognized as an important etiologic pathogen of hookworm diseases in travelers to countries in the Southeast Asia and West Pacific Ocean regions

Additional file 1: of Ancylostoma ceylanicum, novel etiological agent for traveler’s diarrhea—report of four Japanese patients who returned from Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea

Table S1. List of gene-specific primers used for PCR. (PDF 60 kb