Doctors see long-term effects in COVID-recovered patients
New Delhi: Recovered COVID-19 patients are witnessing prolonged effects from the virus, in some cases for months, that doctors and medical experts have said depends on the severity of the disease and are calling it "long COVID syndrome". Many patients from different age groups are reporting lung and heart-related complications, but medical experts say neurological issues are also increasing in these patients.
Speaking about the involvement of lungs and the repercussions of the virus in recovered patients, Dr Vikas Maurya, Director and Head of Department, Pulmonology at Fortis Hospital said, "Majority of the patients in moderate or severe category have lung involvement, may come with interstitial lung involvement. They have persistent symptoms like shortness of breath and cardiac issues. Interstitial lung involvement is quite common in patients with severe corona pneumonia and they are being treated for months. For example, those who have been discharged in June or May are still under treatment."
According to medical experts even though the majority of those falling under this category are the elderly, young people too have come forward to report prolonged symptoms. "The age criteria are falling, like in elderly we see severe symptoms, but patients as young as 35 are also coming in with severe pneumonia. I feel there will be an increase in the number of interstitial lung diseases post-COVID in the months to come, which we will deal with. There has also been a decrease in lung function," Dr Maurya
added.
Meanwhile, there has been a severe effect on the neurological working for patients, who suffer from issues such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety.
Dr Niraj Nischal, Assistant Professor Department of Medicine at All India Institute Of Medical Sciences said, "A patient who was in ICU or on ventilator hs different set of complications. These patients may have a chance of getting ICU delirium or they may suffer from anxiety. Patients might also suffer from PTSD as they go on the ventilator. These types of problems may persist. If there is some brain damage due to hypotonia, it can have a long-term effect, where brain dysfunction may happen."
He said that even though symptoms persist, the exact long-term repercussions of the fatal disease are still not clear. "There is a new term called brain fog syndrome, where people momentarily lose their memories. These symptoms have been described by patients who went to the ICU or required oxygen. This is an evolving thing," he added.
Dr Nikhil Modi, Senior Consultant, Respiratory, Critical care at Institutes of Critical Care, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals categorised post-COVID complications under two broad groups. "One is lung-related and the other is body-related. Weakness, muscle cramps and in some cases heart-related issues can be seen. However, moderate to severe cases are seeing issues in the lungs, in which either they develop bronchitis, similar to what is there in Asthma, breathing difficulties and chest tightness leading to fibrosis, in which they do permanent damage and scarring of the lungs."
