AUTHOR=Bonilla Hector , Quach Tom C. , Tiwari Anushri , Bonilla Andres E. , Miglis Mitchell , Yang Phillip C. , Eggert Lauren E. , Sharifi Husham , Horomanski Audra , Subramanian Aruna , Smirnoff Liza , Simpson Norah , Halawi Houssan , Sum-ping Oliver , Kalinowski Agnieszka , Patel Zara M. , Shafer Robert William , Geng Linda N. 

TITLE=Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is common in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): Results from a post-COVID-19 multidisciplinary clinic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1090747

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1090747

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Background
The global prevalence of PASC is estimated to be present in 0·43 and based on the WHO estimation of 470 million worldwide COVID-19 infections, corresponds to around 200 million people experiencing long COVID symptoms. Despite this, its clinical features are not well defined. 

Methods
We collected retrospective data from 140 patients with PASC in a post-COVID-19 clinic on demographics, risk factors, illness severity (graded as one-mild to five-severe), functional status, and 29 symptoms and principal component symptoms cluster analysis. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2015 criteria were used to determine the ME/CFS phenotype.  
  
Findings
The median age was 47 years, 59·0% were female; 49·3% White, 17·2% Hispanic, 14·9% Asian, and 6·7% Black. Only 12·7% required hospitalization. Seventy-two (53·5%) patients had no known comorbid conditions. Forty-five (33·9%) were significantly debilitated. The median duration of symptoms was 285·5 days, and the number of symptoms was 12. The most common symptoms were fatigue (86·5%), post-exertional malaise (82·8%), brain fog (81·2%), unrefreshing sleep (76·7%), and lethargy (74·6%). Forty-three percent fit the criteria for ME/CFS, majority were female, and obesity (BMI >30 Kg/m2) (P= 0.00377895) and worse functional status (P= 0.0110474) were significantly associated with ME/CFS. 

Interpretations
Most PASC patients evaluated at our clinic had no comorbid condition and were not hospitalized for acute COVID-19. One-third of patients experienced a severe decline in their functional status. About 43% had the ME/CFS subtype.