COVID-19: Pneumonia and respiratory failure among most frequent complications

Researchers have identified various complications associated with COVID-19. Image: bojanstory/IStock.com

What are the most common complications associated with COVID-19? While some have been highlighted since the beginning of the pandemic, there is still doubt about a handful of them. A team of U.S. and Canadian researchers has been working on the subject to improve the diagnosis of patients and offer them the most appropriate treatments.

“Understanding the full range of associated conditions can aid in prognosis, guide treatment decisions and better inform patients as to their actual risks for the variety of COVID-19 complications reported in the literature and media,” explains Dr. William Murk, one of the main authors of the research.

Scientists used a database of anonymized hospital and ambulatory care claims to identify 70,288 patients who had a health appointment related to COVID-19 between March 1 and April 30, 2020. Researchers essentially analyzed the diagnostic codes and highlighted those that were more important after the onset of the disease in these patients, more than half of whom were hospitalized.

Among the most common complications associated with COVID-19 were pneumonia (27.6% absolute risk for a person with the disease), respiratory failure (22.6%), kidney failure (11.8%), and sepsis or systemic inflammation (10.4%). Researchers have also identified collapsed lungs as a complication, as well as blood clotting disorders.

The authors of the study note, however, that COVID-19 did not appear to be associated with an increased risk of stroke, as some previous studies have suggested. NVG

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