Prognostic biomarkers of symptom persistence in COVID-19 in an outpatient cohort from Niterói-RJ

This study investigated prognostic biomarkers for persistent symptoms of COVID-19, known as long COVID, in an outpatient cohort from Niterói-RJ. Among 1,590 participants, 251 were continuously followed for up to a year post-diagnosis. At 56 days after diagnosis, 35.4% reported persistent symptoms, linked to factors such as older age, female gender, a higher number of acute phase symptoms, and obesity. Complete COVID-19 vaccination significantly reduced the likelihood of developing long COVID. While hematimetric parameters and inflammatory biomarkers like IL-6, IL-10, CXCL-10, PCR, and sUPAR did not reach statistical significance, they were clinically relevant. Hemoglobin was statistically significant (p=0.045) as a potential marker. The findings emphasize the importance of monitoring clinical and inflammatory factors during the acute infection phase and maintaining broad, accessible immunization strategies.