P-271 Respiratory Symptoms in Post Covid Syndrome in Healthcare Workers

Abstract Background Lung injury is one of the most common and damaging lesions of COVID-19. Some of the manifestations may persist after the clinical recovery as part of a post-COVID syndrome. Aim To study the prevalence of persistent respiratory symptoms after COVID-19 infection and its associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers at a Tunisian Hospital, who tested positive for SARS-COV2 during the period from 01/09/2020 to 28/02/2021. Results A total of 474 workers were included, with a mean age of 41.02 ±10.67 years. A female predominance was noted (79.3%). A medical history was reported in 37.9% of cases of which 16.3% had a respiratory history. The rate of respiratory manifestations of covid-19 was 38.4% and consisted of (35.6%) cough, (5.8%) dyspnea, and (5.8%) chest pain. At 3-month follow-up, respiratory symptoms of the post-covid syndrome were dominated by shortness of breath on effort (23.8%), chest pain (8.4%), and cough (7.4%). Chest CT scans were performed in 33 patients and were normal in 33.3% of cases. The evaluation duration of dyspnea, chest pain and cough in the post-COVID phase were more prolonged in patients who were not hospitalized during the acute phase of the infection compared to those who were hospitalized with a statistically significant difference for dyspnea (p dyspnea=0.024) and for chest pain (p chest pain=0.023). Discussion and Conclusion The high rate of respiratory manifestations of post covid syndrome underlines the importance of further work in order to prevent its possible complications.