PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Rebecca R Taylor AU - Bhavi Trivedi AU - Neena Patel AU - Richa Singh AU - William M Ricketts AU - Katharine Elliott AU - Marcus Yarwood AU - Veronica White AU - Hannah Hylton AU - Ruth Allen AU - Gavin Thomas AU - Vikas Kapil AU - Rachel McGuckin AU - Paul E Pfeffer TI - Post-COVID symptoms reported at asynchronous virtual review and stratified follow-up after COVID-19 pneumonia AID - 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0037 DP - 2021 Jul 01 TA - Clinical Medicine PG - e384--e391 VI - 21 IP - 4 4099 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/4/e384.short 4100 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/4/e384.full SO - Clin Med2021 Jul 01; 21 AB - Background The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems and how best to address post-COVID health needs is uncertain. Here we describe the post-COVID symptoms of 675 patients followed up using a virtual review pathway, stratified by severity of acute COVID infection.Methods COVID-19 survivors completed an online/telephone questionnaire of symptoms after 12+ weeks and a chest X-ray. Dependent on findings at virtual review, patients were provided information leaflets, attended for investigations and/or were reviewed face-to-face. Outcomes were compared between patients following high-risk and low-risk admissions for COVID pneumonia, and community referrals.Results Patients reviewed after hospitalisation for COVID pneumonia had a median of two ongoing physical health symptoms post-COVID. The most common was fatigue (50.3% of high-risk patients). Symptom burden did not vary significantly by severity of hospitalised COVID pneumonia but was highest in community referrals. Symptoms suggestive of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder were common (depression occurred in 24.9% of high-risk patients). Asynchronous virtual review facilitated triage of patients at highest need of face-to-face review.Conclusion Many patients continue to have a significant burden of post-COVID symptoms irrespective of severity of initial pneumonia. How best to assess and manage long COVID will be of major importance over the next few years.