Most patients who had been hospitalized with coronavirus still suffered a variety of symptoms — including fatigue and sleep difficulties — six months after infection, a Chinese study has found.
The study of more than 1,700 patients treated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic, shows 76 percent suffered at least one symptom months after they were discharged from hospital.
The findings indicate that even people who recover from COVID-19 could suffer long-lasting health impacts from their bout with the coronavirus, which has infected more than 90 million people worldwide.
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The study, the largest of its kind yet carried out, published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet. It found that fatigue and sleep difficulties were the most common post-COVID-19 symptoms, occurring in 63 percent and 26 percent of the patients, respectively, six months after the onset of their initial diagnosis.
The disease could also have long-lasting psychological complications, with anxiety or depression reported among 23 percent of the patients, the study found.
Patients who were more severely ill tended to have continued evidence of lung damage on X-rays, according to the researchers.
“Because Covid-19 is such a new disease, we are only beginning to understand some of its long-term effects on patients’ health,” Dr. Bin Cao of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Capital Medical University, who led the study team, said in a statement.
“Our analysis indicates that most patients continue to live with at least some of the effects of the virus after leaving hospital, and highlights a need for post-discharge care, particularly for those who experience severe infections. Our work also underscores the importance of conducting longer follow-up studies in larger populations in order to understand the full spectrum of effects that Covid-19 can have on people,” the statement said.
Scientists around the world are studying the long-lasting effects of the virus, commonly referred to as “long Covid” symptoms.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain and chest pain as the most commonly reported long-term symptoms. Others, such as difficulty with thinking and concentration — known as “brain fog,” depression and headache, are also reported among coronavirus long-haulers.
“While most persons with Covid-19 recover and return to normal health, some patients can have symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after recovery from acute illness. Even people who are not hospitalized and who have a mild illness can experience persistent or late symptoms,” the US CDC says.
A study published in the British Medical Journal in August found that around 10 percent of patients had a prolonged illness from COVID-19 lasting more than 12 weeks.
But the Chinese study is the largest, with the longest follow-up duration, to investigate the long-term impact on discharged patients, according to its authors. — Courtesy CNN
