Post-COVID-19 sequelae depending on the severity of the disease

<bold>INTRODUCTION:</bold> Individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection can develop symptoms that persist well beyond the acute phase of COVID-19 or emerge after the acute phase. Existing literature has defined the most common sequelae of the disease. However, there is a lack of evidence of how different survivors have been affected depending on the severity of the COVID-19. The aim was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in fatigue, dyspnea and pain depending on the severity of COVID-19. <bold>METHODS:</bold> An observational study was performed. Based on the WHO classification, we categorized the patients into 5 groups based on the severity of the illness: healthy, mild, moderate, severe, and critical. We evaluated fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS); pain with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS); and dyspnea with Borg scale. <bold>RESULTS:</bold> 304 participants were divided into 5 groups: healthy (n=42), mild (n=143), moderate (n=49), severe (n=52) and critical (n=18). Regarding fatigue, the results of the FSS indicated that moderate, severe and critical groups exhibited significant fatigue (≥36 points). Furthermore, we found that as patients transition from a lower severity group to a higher severity group, they experience an increase in fatigue as well as pain and dyspnea. Significant differences were found between several groups for all variables. <bold>CONCLUSIONS:</bold> In our study, we found that as patients transitioned from a lower severity group to a higher severity group, they experienced an increase in sequelae, including fatigue, pain, and dyspnea. Further research is warranted to investigate the long-term implications and potential interventions for individuals with COVID-19 sequelae.