Some patients who have recovered from mild cases of coronavirus had been known to be long-haulers or staying ill for weeks and even months. A new study reports that almost 90% of recovered patients continue to have at least one persistent symptom.
Italian researchers published a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on July 9 based on the clinical data of 143 patients. They calculated that up to 72% of the coronavirus patients had interstitial pneumonia while they were hospitalized. The average duration of hospital stay was two weeks.
Around 60 days after initial virus symptoms, only less than 13% of recovered patients were completely free of symptoms. 32% still had up to two lingering symptoms while 55% had three or more symptoms, amounting to 87% of the patients.
None of the recovered patients had a fever or signs of acute illness yet 44% of them had worse quality of life. As a result, 53% had fatigue, 43% had dyspnea (shortness of breath), 27% had joint pain and 22% had chest pain.
'Harsh Reality'
Dr. Angelo Carfi from the Policlinic Foundation University Agostino Gemelli and his team wrote, 'clinicians and researchers have focused on the acute phase of COVID-19, but continued monitoring after discharge for long-lasting effects is needed.' Most long-haulers only suffered mild symptoms while these 'recovered' patients survived severe cases.
In agreement, Dr. Robert Glatter from the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City said, 'The harsh reality is that many patients continue to experience lingering symptoms for weeks and months after being diagnosed with and 'recovering' from COVID-19.' One theory, Glatter explained, is that coronavirus results in a state of chronic inflammation similar to infections such as Epstein-Barr, a type of herpes virus.
Acute and Chronic Effects
'While this small study found that fatigue and shortness of breath were the two most common symptoms, many people also experience many other lingering symptoms including low-grade fevers, and neurologic symptoms such as numbness and tingling,' Glatter continued. Recovered patients continue to suffer from mental health post-coronavirus too, said the doctor.
'Long haulers' also must deal with issues of depression and anxiety, making the disease not only physically but emotionally disabling,' Glatter said. 'The bottom line is that we need to pay attention to those individuals with ongoing symptoms and pursue research to address the underlying mechanism of such symptoms.'
Moreover, their study adds evidence to physicians saying that anyone is vulnerable to the virus and not just specific age groups. Their data included patients between the ages of 19 and 84 years old.
Furthermore, some of these symptoms persist even after medical experts can no longer find any trace of COVID-19 in their system. Doctors continue to investigate the possible long-term disabilities coronavirus can cause people; both acute and chronic effects.
