by Claudio Lucifora
There are still many people who have persistent symptoms after some time from the infection
Since the beginning of the pandemic, in Lombardy alone, there have been 46,053 deaths with Covid and a total of infections (so-called positive cases) equal to 4,165,271. Although the acute phase of the pandemic has been archived and the desire to leave Covid behind is strong in everyone, there are still numerous cases with persistent symptoms even months or years after recovery. Patients turn to healthcare facilities complaining of various but real ailments that prevent them from leading a normal healthy life. Although many of them are then taken over by the National Health Service (NHS) and treated, it is often not easy to trace the symptoms and pathologies to the Covid infection.
One of the main reasons that, to date, there is no protocol for the NHS to take charge of patients with Pasc, i.e. the post-acute sequelae of Sars-Cov-2 infection. To fill this gap, the Cariplo Foundation, as part of the Networking, research and training call on the Post-Covid syndrome, financed the Pascnet project: The post-Covid syndrome: coping with a new public health emergency with innovative management and network building, coordinated by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
The project proposes a new alliance between health protection agencies (Ats), local social and healthcare companies (Asst), scientific hospitalization and treatment institutes (Irccs) and Universities, also with the involvement of general practitioners, to the study of the post-acute sequelae of the infection, both in terms of its epidemiological dimension and its clinical characteristics.
The clinical dimension represents the main challenge of Long-Covid given that the systemic consequences of the infection can manifest themselves, even after some time, in the respiratory system, the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, up to the neuro-psychiatric system. Many patients are aware that they no longer feel as healthy as they did before Covid and report different symptoms. Among the most frequent symptoms are problems with memory, concentration or language (the so-called fog or brain fog), insomnia or excessive sleepiness, altered sensitivity in the limbs and, in the most serious cases, difficulties in walking or in carrying out normal functions. daily.
However, in the absence of a diagnosis, patients often feel left on their own, or migrate from one ward to another in search of treatment. The bet is to be able to define a new therapeutic protocol that can improve the health of Covid patients.
*Professor of Political Economy at the Catholic University, Milan campus. Director of the Active Aging Observatory at the Catholic University
July 9, 2023 (change July 9, 2023 | 1:14 pm)
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