- Ford, James;
- Yu, Huihui;
- Gottlieb, Michael;
- Morse, Dana;
- Santangelo, Michelle;
- OLaughlin, Kelli;
- Schaeffer, Kevin;
- Logan, Pamela;
- Rising, Kristin;
- Hill, Mandy;
- Wisk, Lauren;
- Salah, Wafah;
- Idris, Ahamed;
- Huebinger, Ryan;
- Spatz, Erica;
- Klabbers, Robin;
- Gatling, Kristyn;
- Wang, Ralph;
- Elmore, Joann;
- McDonald, Samuel;
- Stephens, Kari;
- Weinstein, Robert;
- Venkatesh, Arjun;
- Saydah, Sharon;
- Rodriguez, Robert;
- Montoy, Juan Carlos
To further the understanding of post-COVID conditions, and provide a more nuanced description of symptom progression, resolution, emergence, and reemergence after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-like illness, analysts examined data from the Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry (INSPIRE), a prospective multicenter cohort study. This report includes analysis of data on self-reported symptoms collected from 1,296 adults with COVID-like illness who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a Food and Drug Administration-approved polymerase chain reaction or antigen test at the time of enrollment and reported symptoms at 3-month intervals for 12 months. Prevalence of any symptom decreased substantially between baseline and the 3-month follow-up, from 98.4% to 48.2% for persons who received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test results (COVID test-positive participants) and from 88.2% to 36.6% for persons who received negative SARS-CoV-2 test results (COVID test-negative participants). Persistent symptoms decreased through 12 months; no difference between the groups was observed at 12 months (prevalence among COVID test-positive and COVID test-negative participants = 18.3% and 16.1%, respectively; p>0.05). Both groups reported symptoms that emerged or reemerged at 6, 9, and 12 months. Thus, these symptoms are not unique to COVID-19 or to post-COVID conditions. Awareness that symptoms might persist for up to 12 months, and that many symptoms might emerge or reemerge in the year after COVID-like illness, can assist health care providers in understanding the clinical signs and symptoms associated with post-COVID-like conditions.