Home » One year after infection, half of Covid patients still have health problems

One year after infection, half of Covid patients still have health problems

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This was revealed by a new study published in The Lancet that sheds light on the consequences of the disease in over 1,200 people hospitalized in a Wuhan hospital during the first wave of the pandemic: symptoms such as persistent tiredness and fatigue were the most common in 49% of patients. Nearly one in three still suffer from shortness of breath and lung ailments.

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Almost half of those recovered from forms of Covid-19 who required hospitalization continue to have health problems one year after infection. A new study published in The Lancet which sheds light on the consequences of the disease in more than 1,200 patients who were discharged from Jin Yin-tan hospital in Wuhan, China between January 7 and May 29, 2020.

According to researchers, 49% of patients suffer from at least one persistent symptom one year after infection, and almost a third (30%) experienced shortness of breath. Symptoms such as muscle fatigue and weakness were among the most commonly reported (20% of patients). Other more frequent complaints included sleep problems (17%), joint pain (12%), hair loss (11%), palpitations (9%). Also reported chest pain (7%), dizziness (5%), smell disturbance (4%), taste disturbance (3%), decreased appetite (3%), rash (3%) and sore head (2%).

The same patients had previously been evaluated 6 months after infection and, contrary to expectations, some complaints were found more frequent at 12-month follow-up. Among them, the shortness of breath which was reported in 4% in more cases. This problem was more prevalent in patients who survived severe Covid-19 and required ventilation during hospitalization (39%) than in those who had not been treated with oxygen (25%). In contrast, lung function problems were observed regardless of disease severity during hospitalization, with no significant improvement from 6 to 12 months.

The survey also showed how, compared to men, women have 1.4 times more likely to report muscle fatigue or weakness, twice as likely to report anxiety or depression, and nearly three times as likely to have impaired pulmonary diffusion after 12 months. People who had been treated with corticosteroids were 1.5 times more likely to experience muscle fatigue or weakness after 12 months than those who had not been treated with corticosteroids during their illness.

Although most patients have recovered well, health problems persist in some, especially among those who have experienced severe Covid during their hospital stay. – said Bin Cao of the Chinese National Center for Pulmonology and lead author of the study -. Our findings suggest that recovery for some patients will take more than a year and this should be considered in planning post-pandemic health service delivery.”.

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