Updated 19 October 2020 at 19:56 IST
COVID-19 patients experience breathlessness, fatigue for months after infection: Study
The University of Oxford led the research and observed the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on 58 patients hospitalised due to the highly-infectious disease.
A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital continue to experience breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety, and depression for 2-3 months after the infection, a study on small sample size found. The University of Oxford led the research and observed the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on 58 patients hospitalised due to the highly-infectious disease.
“The medium-term effects of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on multiple organ health, exercise capacity, cognition, quality of life and mental health are poorly understood,” the study said.
The findings of the study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed but published on the MedRxiv website before the review, suggest that 64% of patients experienced persistent breathlessness and 55% complained of significant fatigue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patients indicated tissue signal abnormalities in the lungs (60%), heart (26%), liver (10%) and kidneys (29%) of patients.
“Persistent lung and extra-pulmonary organ MRI findings are common. In COVID-19 survivors, chronic inflammation may underlie multiorgan abnormalities and contribute to impaired quality of life,” the study added.
Read: 'Long COVID' Linked To Organ Impairment In Young People Without Pre-existing Conditions: Study
Some patients suffer from 'long COVID'
Last week, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and its Clinical Research Network (CRN) found that patients recovering coronavirus sometimes suffer from "long COVID" syndrome that causes a series of illness in the patient’s body, as well as with mental implications. Researchers found that illness might last for up to seven months or more for patients with physiological symptoms. The symptoms occur and vanish, only to rise again in presumably a different body part.
The NIHR has been conducting an array of interventional studies investigating potential COVID-19 treatments, most recently with over 200,000 participants across the UK. The institute, with its new research about coronavirus, aimed to integrate the information into the best healthcare for patients with the help of new and existing drugs.
“Young, healthy people experience life-threatening illness when they get COVID-19,” the institute said in a statement, adding that some people have a “distinct pathway” of ongoing effects with fluctuating and multisystem symptoms.
Published By : Kunal Gaurav
Published On: 19 October 2020 at 19:57 IST