july17, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

On July 17, The Lancet published a study titled “Characterization of in-hospital complications associated with COVID-19 using the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterization Protocol UK: a prospective, multicenter cohort study.” These complications are likely to have significant short- and long-term consequences for patients, health-care utilization, health-care system preparedness, and society in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections Consortium WHO Clinical Characterization Protocol UK was used to characterize the extent and impact of COVID-19 complications, especially in those who survived.

The study found that COVID-19 survivors who had at least one complication had a lower ability to care for themselves after being discharged from the hospital. Hospitalization for COVID-19 is associated with a high rate of morbidity in adults. Almost half of those who survived had one or more complications, which were more common in critically ill patients. When patients were younger, complications had the greatest impact on their ability to self-care (under 50 years old). Complication rates were discovered to be high across all age groups and to rise with age. Males were significantly more likely to develop complications than females.

The most common complications in the study's data were acute kidney injury and complex respiratory and systemic complications. Although the study only looked at complications during COVID-19's initial admission, many of the common complications found were linked to significant long-term morbidity. Aside from the more common complications, 1–5% of patients experienced rarer complications such as stroke, congestive heart failure, and cardiac arrest.

The study's lead author, Clinical Fellow Thomas M. Drake of the University of Edinburgh, stated that it is critical to consider not only death from COVID-19, but also other complications.

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