Symptoms lasted months after a positive test for COVID-19-ScienceDaily

In more than 1,500 studies tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the first year of the pandemic, researchers said that those who tested positive for the virus were more likely to report pain, numbness, or tingling. I found it to be 3 times higher. Their hands and feet, just like those with a negative test.

Findings will be reported online in the journal on March 24th. pain.

“Several viral infections, such as HIV and shingles, are associated with peripheral neuropathy because the virus can damage nerves,” said Simon, Head of Clinical Research at the University of Washington Pain Center. Dr. Hartunian said. “Nearly 30% of COVID-19-positive patients reported neuropathy problems at diagnosis, and 6% to 7% of patients were found to have symptoms for at least 2 weeks and up to 3 months. It suggests that this virus may have a protracted effect on peripheral nerves. “

Hartunian, an associate professor of anesthesiology and director of clinical and translational research at the department, said some patients who traced the onset of neuropathy to COVID-19 infection at the University of Washington Pain Center. He said he was seeking treatment. However, most of the people who participated in the study reported problems that were rated mild to moderate and may not seek help from a pain specialist.

“It’s important to understand whether viral infections are associated with an increased risk of neuropathy,” he said. “In the case of HIV, for several years after the AIDS epidemic began, we were unaware that it was causing neuropathy. As a result, many people were not diagnosed with neuropathy and were associated with the problem. I didn’t get treatment for my pain. “

He said the same may be true for patients with neuropathy following COVID-19. Although there is no established diagnosis of neuropathy associated with COVID-19, Haroutounian explained that current treatments for neuropathy, regardless of cause, are somewhat similar. Pain specialists use the same type of medicine to treat peripheral neuropathy, whether it is caused by diabetes or HIV, or the cause is unknown.

“There is no clear diagnostic criteria at this time, and even if the syndrome known as COVID peripheral neuropathy is not recognized, it is likely that we can help these patients,” he said.

The research team investigated patients tested for COVID-19 at the University of Washington Medical Campus from March 16, 2020 to January 12, 2021. Of the 1,556 study participants, 542 were positive for COVID-19 and 1,014 were negative.

Many people who tested negative were tested because they had surgery or were already hospitalized for cancer, diabetes, or other health problems, Haroutounian said. Due to those existing health problems, many who tested negative already experienced chronic pain and neuropathy unrelated to COVID-19, he said.

Study patients who tested positive tended to be healthy and young, with 29% reporting symptoms of neuropathy at diagnosis. This was compared to the neuropathy problem in about 13% of participants who tended to have health problems but were negative for COVID-19. He said the finding increases the likelihood that the virus is involved in causing symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.

Since the study was conducted in a single center, Harutounian said more research was needed to reproduce the findings. In addition, much of the data was collected when outpatient clinical studies were discontinued due to a pandemic. That is, the patients surveyed were evaluated based on their responses to the survey, rather than face-to-face interviews or physical examinations.

“We also terminated data collection before vaccination became widespread and before the arrival of Delta or Omicron variants. It is difficult to determine what impact these variables could have. “He said. “Therefore, we want to follow up on some patients with prolonged neurological symptoms, investigate the cause of the pain, and better diagnose and treat these patients.”

This work is supported by the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grant numbers UL1TR000448 and P30CA091842, NCI Cancer Center Support Grants awarded to the Cytoman Comprehensive Cancer Center.