Discussion
The clinical appearance of COVID-19 begins within 14 days after exposure; however, in most cases, symptoms appear after about 5 days, and symptom onset is within 11.5 days in 97.5% of individuals (8). Although there are a wide range of studies and references related to COVID-19 in the literature, it is observed that the majority of these studies are related to the acute onset and course of cases. The disease has recently been identified. Because of its low recognition, definitions and classifications were mainly based on clinical and laboratory results. The symptoms are not specific to COVID-19, and they may occur in many families of viruses. For this reason, there are few studies on symptom characteristics. In the literature review, a detailed study about the rate of decline or duration of relief of symptoms after COVID-19 treatment could not have been found. Although the symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the general symptoms of virus infections, in this study, it was concluded that symptoms caused by COVID-19 may last longer than other virus infections. Even at a low rate, the duration of relief of symptoms may last longer than a month. Symptoms such as fever, headache, loss of taste and smell, myalgia, fatigue are common symptoms of general viral diseases and they are considered less important by patients. But the persistence of concerning symptoms to the patient, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, may be an issue that needs attention. These symptoms burden both people and hospitals financially, sociologically and psychologically along with recurrent hospital application.
An interesting point that was noticed in the study is that there had been a serious complaint of hair loss in patients after COVID-19 infection, of which the majority is women (total: 42.7%, women: 34.1%). As can be seen in the Figure 3, no specific distribution was observed in the complaint of hair loss by age. However, as the treatment duration prolonged, the frequency of hair loss and shortness of breath increased more in women (Figures 3 and 4). As Chen N. et al and many studies had reported, anemia developed during COVID-19 infection (9). As it was found out in the study, both shortness of breath, which continues after treatment, and complaints of hair loss, may be seen at a high rate and may continue for a long time. It is believed that these complaints may develop secondary to anemia that develops during the disease. It is not yet clear whether this anemia is classic iron-deficient anemia treatment is needed. However, there is no consensus on the criteria by which the complaint of shortness of breath should be monitored and how long it should be followed up, and the reliability and necessity of using imaging methods and pulmonary function tests in follow-up.