A Comparative Study to Assess Post-COVID Fatigue and its Functional Limitations

Abstract

This work aimed to study the difference in the level of fatigue perception between cases and controls, who did not have COVID-19. This study sought to establish the impact of severity of infection with fatigue scores on the quality of life. This observational case-control study, recruiting 165 participants, both males and females, from Fazaia Ruth Pfau Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan, started from August 2022 to October 2023 after obtaining their consent. A total of 65 COVID-positive with 21.5% hospitalized and 78.5% non-hospitalized subjects were included. Post-COVID fatigue among the participants was compared using the validated Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ-11), and WHOQOL scale. Participants in all groups reported fatigue on the Fatigue Severity Scale with Covid-positive (38.25 ±12.15) and Covid-negative (33.75±11.28) rate, with a significant p-value (0.031). According to CFQ, no significant difference (p=0.91) was found between fatigue scores of Covid positive and negative. However, a significant (p=0. 016) difference was observed between Covid-positive hospitalized (4.37±0.33) and non-hospitalized (1.98 ±0.22) subjects. QOL scores in different domains, including QOL General Health (7.18±1.54), physical (20.38±3.51), psychological (46.33±7.05), and social (9.98±1.94), were all significant (p=0.00) when compared between Covid positives and negatives. The study revealed that post-covid survivors experienced fatigue, which imposed limitations on different aspects of life, which was different from the fatigue of non-affected individuals.