After being hospitalized for Covit-19, at least one in three patients will experience chronic health problems. It can range from organ damage to psychological problems, according to a study released Monday.
This study, which combines several studies on the subject, cites fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as the most common symptoms in patients with “covia lung”. According to analysts, the data point to an underestimated health crisis, and governments need to pay more attention to it. Above all, they need to think about how to do this.
“With millions of people worldwide suffering from SARS-Cov-2, the long-term burden on physical, intellectual and mental health is still ahead of us,” said Karthik Sehgal, a medical oncologist at Harvard (Boston) and the lead author of the study.
Covit-19 primarily targets the lungs, which can sometimes lead to chronic respiratory problems. But studies show that the virus also targets other organs, leading to complications such as heart problems and chronic infections.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, examined nine studies in Europe, the United States and China. An Italian study found that out of 143 patients, 90 percent had at least one symptom two months after leaving the hospital. There are half as many. The most common symptoms are extreme fatigue (53.1 percent), joint pain (27.1 percent) or abdominal pain (21.7 percent).
According to three studies in France, the United Kingdom and China, 25 to 30 percent of patients report sleep problems a few weeks after recovering from a critical stage of covia. About 20 percent report hair loss.
Mental health effects are also troubling. Of the 402 Italian patients, 56 percent had at least one mental health problem a month after being discharged from the hospital. It can range from post-traumatic stress to depression and anxiety issues.
“It is important not to forget the implications for the mental health of the govt lungs when treating physical symptoms. Because they are easy to set aside, ”says Sekel. The authors of the study say that when the health crisis is resolved, the results show that it is not enough to avoid covit deaths.
