Post-Acute sequelae of COVID-19 infection: Risk of new hospitalization for Non-COVID-19 conditions

Context: Reports of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 continue to emerge, but it remains unclear how the severity of a patient’s COVID-19 infection affects risk for future hospitalizations for non-COVID-19 problems.

Objective: To examine in a 6-month cohort the risk of a hospitalization among patients infected with COVID-19.

Study Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study assessed University of Florida Health adult patients (n=10,646 patients) who were PCR validated to be COVID-19 positive or negative and followed them for 6 months using electronic health records. The data were left censored for 30 days to exclude readmissions.

Outcome Measures: Hospitalization for any cause and for conditions that could be seen as complications of COVID-19 (cardiovascular, respiratory, and clotting diagnoses). The 6-month risk of a new hospitalization was assessed in both unadjusted and adjusted Cox regressions.

Results: Of the 10,646 patients,114 had severe COVID-19, 211 had mild/moderate COVID-19, and 10,321 were COVID-19 negative. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, there was no significantly increased risk in future hospitalization for any condition for patients who were COVID-19 positive versus those who were COVID-19 negative (HR 1.31; 95% CI 0.98, 1.74). In adjusted analyses, individuals with severe COVID-19 had an increased risk of hospitalization for potential complications compared to both mild/moderate COVID-19 (HR 2.20; 95% CI 1.13, 4.28) and COVID-19 negative patients (HR 2.24; 95% CI: 1.52, 3.30).

Conclusions: Patients with a severe COVID-19 episode were at greater risk for future hospitalizations. This study reinforces the importance of preventing infection in patients at higher risk for severe COVID-19 cases.