By now we know, Covid often brings with it persistent aftermath with symptoms, from fatigue to muscle aches, which last for months and months. This is confirmed today by a large study, published in The Lancet, which shows that even after a year a large slice of people recovered from the virus, about half, still have at least one symptom. And one in three after 12 months still experiences wheezing and breathing difficulties.
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The study, which was attended by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences at the Wuhan Center, included Chinese hospitalized patients, many of whom therefore have severe forms of the disease. The data substantiate and confirm the evidence gathered on Long Covid and the need to manage these new pathologies.
I study it your Long Covid
The researchers analyzed the clinical situation of nearly 1,300 people affected by the coronavirus, with an average age of 57, hospitalized in China in the first phase of the pandemic. The authors monitored symptoms 6 and 12 months after discharge from the hospital. The good news is that in general, after this time, people are better off and most of the clinical manifestations associated with the infection disappear. However, for at least one in two individuals, at least one symptom remains, even after 12 months.
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Tiredness and breathlessness, even after 12 months
Common Long Covid problems include fatigue and muscle weakness. The lungs are also among the most targeted organs: after 1 year a third of the healed still have dyspnea (i.e. shortness of breath, shortness of breath). “The study is interesting because it strengthens the evidence we are gathering on long-term Covid-19 symptoms,” he points out. Luca Richeldi, Chief of Pneumology at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital and President of the Italian Society of Pneumology. “The data are more or less in line with those of other studies carried out in various countries.” Dyspnea most affects people who have had Covid pneumonia and need to receive oxygen or have been intubated.
In fact, the Wuhan study shows that among those recovered from severe forms after 12 months, about 39% still have breathlessness, while among those who had medium or mild forms the percentage stops at 25%. In short, even those who are not elderly or particularly at risk could face Long Covid. “The study – points out Richeldi – confirms that even patients with moderate Covid, who did not need ventilation, may still have symptoms for a year or more”. We still don’t know if the ailments last longer than a year. “The point – explains Richeldi – is that we still don’t know the progress of these events”.
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Dyspnea often does not decrease
It is not the first case of after-effects after non-Covid pneumonia or a viral infection. “It is not the first time we have observed episodes of dyspnea after pneumonia”, comments the expert, “although probably in that of Sars-Cov-2 the cases are proportionally more numerous”. Furthermore, the data on dyspnea are interesting for another reason as well. “If the other systemic symptoms decrease in the second six months after recovery”, underlines the expert, “the Lancet study shows that on the contrary cases of dyspnea remain stable or even grow slightly”. This is a confirmation of the proportion and extent of the problem, continues the expert, and it will be important to study solutions and plans for taking care of these patients, who are very numerous on the whole.
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Wheezing and shortness of breath aren’t the only lung ailments. “In specific situations, in the presence of severe Covid and perhaps a particular clinical history, we speak of signs of pulmonary fibrosis”, Richeldi points out, “or scars on the lung with chronic respiratory compromise. It is estimated that a little less than a third of those recovered, especially those who have had significant symptoms, may face this problem. Currently, the treatments used to manage these patients are experimental and are being studied. ” In short, while waiting for us to learn more and find new therapeutic paths, we use the weapons at our disposal, from vaccination to other protective measures.
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