A Comprehensive Report of German Nationwide Inpatient Data on the Post-COVID-19 Syndrome Including Annual Direct Healthcare Costs.

Observed Findings

• Nearly 30,000 hospitalized Post-COVID Syndrome cases identified in Germany in 2019, representing 5.5% of hospital admissions.
• In-hospital mortality rate of 4.5% and ICU admission rate of 17.2%, indicating severity in a subset of hospitalized patients.
• Most common concomitant diagnoses included pneumonia, critical illness polyneuropathy, dyspnea, chronic fatigue syndrome, and pulmonary embolisms.
• Total cumulative direct healthcare costs exceeded €136.6 million, with mean cost of €4,583 per case (ranging from €620 to €113,801).
• Majority of patients (18.6%) were aged 65-74 years, suggesting age-related severity or hospitalization bias.

Inferred Conclusions

• Post-COVID Syndrome represents a major public health and economic burden with substantial healthcare resource utilization and mortality among hospitalized cases.
• The wide range of comorbid diagnoses suggests PCS involves multiple organ systems (respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, and metabolic).
• Healthcare systems require better resource allocation, diagnostic standardization, and rehabilitation frameworks to manage PCS effectively.
• The absence of consensus diagnostic criteria hampers accurate epidemiological assessment and optimal patient management.

Remaining Questions