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We Shouldn’t be Surprised If Long-Covid Will Last for Years
…if the same pattern repeats with SARS-1. That said, what can be done to aid recovery?
Regrettably, for patients with Covid-19, being released from the hospital or testing negative SARS-CoV-2 does not always mean a full recovery. It’s estimated that 10–30% of cases will turn into long-Covid, where symptoms such as dyspnea (shortness of breath), fatigue, cognitive problems, joint pain, myalgia, and gastrointestinal and cardiac issues persist for a month or more. But in my own research review posted as pre-print, the actual prevalence of long-Covid may be higher than the estimated 10–30%.
Strangely, long-Covid can happen to anyone who got infected by SARS-CoV-2, even children, students, and those who only had mild-to-moderate Covid-19. “Most of the patients that I see who are suffering from [long-Covid] syndrome were not hospitalized,” said Jessica Dine, MD, a pulmonary specialist and associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “They were pretty sick, but still at home.”
Long-Covid can last for 6 months or more
Some recovered with time, but a few did not. Studies have reported long-Covid symptoms — such as fatigue, dyspnea, memory problems, etc. — in about one-third of survivors that had been released from the hospital three months ago. Their lung and brain scans also showed abnormal radiograph results indicative of some level of organ damage.
In a more recent study published in the Journal of Infection, researchers at the Research Institute of Santiago in Spain performed a 6-month follow study on 183 survivors (mean age = 66; 18.2% admitted to ICU) of Covid-19. Results were as follows:
- 44.3% reported no limitations in everyday life.
- 31.1% reported persistent symptoms but no limitations in everyday life.
- 14.8% reported evident limitations in everyday life.
- 6.6% were unable to perform all everyday activities.
- 3.3% were dependent on a caregiver for everyday activities.
This means that, in these survivors, long-Covid was still on-going for six months. But how many more months will…
