AIM: Some of the patients with COVID-19 disease have persistent symptoms and there is limited information about the long-term health consequences of those who have recovered. The aim of this study is to investigate persistent symptoms of health care workers after COVID-19 disease and the relationship with demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. METHOD: Healthcare workers who had symptomatic COVID-19 disease proven by RT-PCR and were diagnosed at least 12 weeks ago were included in the study. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, symptoms at time of diagnosis and symptoms that persisted more than 3 weeks were examined in detail with a conducted questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 121 patients included in the study, the mean age was 33.5 (22-59) and the mean time since participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 disease was 30.3 weeks (12.7-56.9). 92% (n=112) of the participants were followed up as outpatients. 63.6% (n=77) of our patients had symptoms lasting more than 3 weeks and the most common symptom were fatigue , loss of smell and attention deficit/concentration disorder. 19 of 77 patients (24.6%) stated that their persistent symptoms lasted longer than 24 weeks, with the most common symptoms being loss of smell. CONCLUSION: All these findings show that even in young patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 infection, post-COVID symptoms are at a rate that will affect their quality of life and health services should be planned for the rehabilitation of these patients. WHAT’S KNOWN? The initial symptoms and clinical course of COVID-19 are well known, but information about the long-term follow-up post-COVİD symptoms, especially in mild and moderate patients, is limited. WHAT’S NEW? Our study contributes to the literature on the frequency of long-term symptoms at 3 months and 6 months in most young patients with mild COVID-19.It also provides data on the situation of post-COVID syndrome in Turkey.

Aims: The differential diagnosis of Fever of Unknown Origin (FUO) is still a major clinical challenge despite the advances in diagnostic procedures. In this multicenter study, we aimed to reveal FUO etiology and factors influencing the final diagnosis of FUO in Turkey. Methods: A total of 214 patients with FUO between the years 2015-2019 from 13 tertiary training and research hospitals were retrospectively evaluated. Results: The etiologic distribution of FUO was infections (44.9%), malignancies (15.42%), autoimmune/inflammatory (11.68%) diseases, miscellaneous diseases (8.41%) and undiagnosed cases (19.62%). Brucellosis (10.25%), extrapulmonary tuberculosis (6.54%) and infective endocarditis (6.54%) were the most frequent three infective causes. Solid malignancies (7.1%) and lymphoma (5.6%), adult-onset still’s disease (6.07%) and thyroiditis (5.14%) were other frequent diseases. The etiologic spectrum did not differ in elderly (p<0.05). Infections were less frequent in Western (34.62%) compared to Eastern regions of Turkey (60.71%) (p< 0.001, OR: 0.31, 95% Cl: 0.19 to 0.60). The ratio of undiagnosed etiology was significantly higher in elderly (p: 0.046, OR: 2.34, 95% Cl: 1.00 to 5.48) and significantly lower in Western Turkey (p: 0.004, OR: 3.07, 95% Cl: 1.39 to 6.71). Conclusion: Brucellosis, extrapulmonary tuberculosis and infective endocarditis remain to be the most frequent infective causes of FUO in Turkey. Solid tumors and lymphomas, AOSD and thyroiditis are the other common diseases. The etiologic spectrum did not differ in elderly, on the other hand, infections were more common in Eastern Turkey. A considerable amount of etiology remained undiagnosed despite the state-of-the-art technology in healthcare services.