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Frontiers in Public Health
Frontiers
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Abstract: |
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health transformation in
healthcare services has undergone significant changes, especially in Saudi Arabia
(SA), which was one of the first countries not only to battle the COVID-19
pandemic but also extended to post-COVID-19 conditions (PCCs) through a
national project to provide a virtual assessment to COVID-19 patients at least
4 weeks after infection. Therefore, we conducted this study from 16 February to
16 June 2022 in SA to determine the frequency of PCCs, provide the necessary
care, and identify the risk factors that delayed their return to their pre-COVID-19
health status.
Methods: A national project targeted all the registered 12,125 COVID-19 patients
in the national register system by family physicians in the PCCs virtual clinics in
the Medical Consultation Call Center (937), using a validated assessment tool.
Results: A total of 12,125 recovered COVID-19 patients were called and asked
to complete a virtual assessment; 5,451 (45.1%) did not answer, and 5,913
(48.8%) agreed and finished the test; 4,973, or 84.2% of participants, did not
report any PCCs. The most frequent PCCs were fatigue (201, 3.4%), coughing
(246, 4.2%), dyspnea (209, 3.6%), loss of appetite or weight loss (43, 7.3%), and
poor concentration (50, 8.4%). All they needed was assurance and information
about health. A mere 384 (6.5%) needed to be referred to PHCCs. A number
of factors were associated with the need for a referral, and the severity of the
SARS-CoV-2 infection, age group, sex, vaccination status, and body mass index
were significant predictors of returning to the pre-infection health status.
In conclusion, the virtual post-COVID-19 clinics in Saudi Arabia received a response rate of
low, and no-show was the main limitation. PCCs are a prevalent condition that
requires further investigation. Many factors can predict the return of participants’
pre-COVID-19 health status and participants’ referral to post-COVID-19 clinics
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