People affected by the COVID-19 virus are more likely to develop what are called long-term COVID complications.
Speaking at the virtual update of the COVID-19 Ministry of Health on Wednesday, Dr. Sana Mohammed, COVID-19 consultant at Couva Hospital and the Multi-Training Facility, said it had become increasingly clear that for some patients there are ongoing effects of Covid-19 virus.
Mohammed said that long COVID refers to the signs and symptoms that occur during or after COVID-19 infection, which persist for more than four weeks and are not explained by another medical condition.
She mentioned that the symptoms of long COVID are very variable, the most reported being fatigue, deep fatigue and difficulty breathing.
Symptoms related to long COVID include generalized respiratory, dermatological, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological, psychological / psychiatric symptoms, as well as ear, nose, and throat symptoms.
“Many patients express a rising and falling nature of the disease, where you feel as if you have recovered for a minute, but then it hits you back. One patient described this as a constant cycle of disappointment, not just for you, but for those around you who really want to come back.
She said that patients can sometimes feel isolated and that they are the only ones who are experiencing ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection. But as they move on, they begin to realize that there are other patients who have the same symptoms.
Sharing data from a COVID-19 study that surveyed more than 4,000 patients in three different countries, Mohammed pointed out that although the study has not yet been evaluated by colleagues, it contains a large body of data that showed some trends in regarding long-term COVID, and added that as the data grow, they will be able to identify groups of patients at risk.
According to the data presented, people who report more than any five symptoms in the week of onset increase their chances of developing long COVID.
In addition, 13.3% of the sample population had symptoms lasting more than 28 days, while 4.5% had symptoms for a period of eight weeks or more, and 2.3% had symptoms more than 12 weeks.
Mohammed noted that while the elderly population was more at risk for long-term COVID, with the age group over 70 representing 21.9% of patients tested, there was a significant finding of 10% in the 18-49 age group.
And while women (14.9%) were more susceptible than men (9.5%), this was not the case for older age groups, as long-term COVID affected all socio-economic groups.
Asthma was the only pre-existing condition that was associated with long COVID and people with long COVID were more likely to need hospital evaluations.
So, what is important for us to note is that cases of long COVID can occur in young people who previously did not have hospitalization. The common perception that it is a disease of the elderly is unrealistic, and young people can certainly continue to experience long COVID, ”said Mohammed.
She said that in addition to the many long-term health consequences of COVID, there is also a psychological, social, financial and economic burden for some patients.
“Some patients may not be able to work and have great difficulty returning to work following COVID-19 infection. Some of our patients have difficulty returning to normal daily function after infection. ”
However, she noted that complications from virus infections are not new and referred to the neurological complications associated with Zika, as well as the long-term effects experienced by people with Chikungunya virus.
So, the concept of long-term symptoms or complications of viral infections should be widely accepted. And although COVID-19 is caused by coronavirus, which is a different virus, it is important for us to recognize the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection. ”
Mohammed said that this is especially important for those who believe that if they contract COVID-19, they will simply recover and that their chances of dying are low, especially for young people without pre-existing medical conditions.
“And while this may be true, I want to emphasize that even in this group it is certainly possible to experience long-term COVID and the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection.”
She said in the long-term management of COVID, patients benefit from a holistic approach in which education is key for both patients and patients in healthcare professionals in terms of what services are available to assess and manage this challenging group. of patients.
Mohammed said that in carrying out the holistic approach, two Executive Wellness Centers, located at Arima General Hospital and Couva Hospital and the Multi-Training Facility, were conceptualized to care for COVID-19 infected patients, some of whom have long COVID.
“These clinics are specialized clinics and use a multidisciplinary team approach, which is the standard of care for the management of these patients.
Therefore, given the multitude of long-term symptoms of COVID and the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection, a large number of patients are likely to experience complications of COVID-19. This will have a significant impact on our health systems for years to come.
“Therefore, it is extremely important for us, the population, to respect all the public health guidelines constantly advised by the Ministry of Health. The only way to prevent long COVID is to prevent COVID-19 infection, ”said Mohammed.