Exploring the Prevalence of Long-Covid and its Factors among Post-Covid Survivors of Karachi

Long COVID or post-COVID problems are long-term effects of COVID-19 infection that certain people who have contracted the virus can experience. This may result in having persistent symptoms for 3 months or more, such as those who had tiredness, malaise, changed smell and taste, dyspnea, and cognitive deficits three or more months after their initial COVID-19 diagnosis. However, some people may still have inferior work performance and a lower quality of life due to the long COVID episodes. From October 2021 to April 2022, cross-sectional research was conducted in Karachi, utilizing an electronic questionnaire to record sociodemographic data, current comorbidities, and previous episodes of acute COVID-19, post-COVID symptoms, and job performance among COVID survivors. The study's findings revealed that more than 35% of individuals surveyed claimed to have had COVID symptoms for six weeks or more, with approximately 20% to 30% of those reporting frequent coughing and appetite loss. Planning prevention, rehabilitation, and clinical treatment need an awareness of long-term COVID and its related components in order to maximize recovery and long-term COVID-19 outcomes.   DOI: https: //doi. Org/10.59564/amrj/01.01/007

Long-Term Outcomes and Factors Associated With Mortality Among Patients With Moderate to Severe Pulmonary Hypertension in Kenya

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a condition that carries significant morbidity and mortality. Studies done in sub-Saharan Africa have reported poor short-term outcomes. However, data on long-term outcomes and prognostic factors are lacking. Objectives: This study sought to determine the one and two-year survival rates and prognostic factors associated with mortality in patients with moderate to severe PH. Methods: A retrospective review of moderate to severe PH patients [pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), ≥45 mmHg] diagnosed at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi from 2014 to 2017 was carried out. Demographic, clinical and in hospital outcome data were extracted from medical charts; and telephone interviews were conducted to determine out of hospital outcomes. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and log rank tests were done to assess for differences between subgroups. Cox regression modelling with multivariable adjustment were used to identify factors associated with all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 659 patients were enrolled in this study, of which 50 (7.6 per cent) were lost to follow-up. The median PASP was 56 mmHg (interquartile range, 49–68 mmHg). After a median follow-up of 626 days, the one and two-year overall survival rates were 73.8 and 65.9 per cent, respectively. Using multivariate cox regression analyses, mortality was significantly associated with age, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, WHO functional class III and IV, severe pulmonary artery systolic pressures, right ventricular and left v ventricular systolic dysfunction. However, gender, systemic arterial hypertension, rheumatic heart disease and presence of significant valvular abnormalities had no significant association with mortality. Conclusion: Pulmonary hypertension is associated with poor long-term outcomes in African patients with overall survival rate of 65.9 per cent at two years. Identification of poor prognostic factors can assist in identifying high-risk patients.