Study warns of potential healthcare burden posed by long-term COVID patients

A new study finds that the prolonged duration of the novel coronavirus has significantly increased doctor visits, home care needs, and hospitalizations for a small number of Ontarians who were infected early in the pandemic.

Researchers say this doesn’t bode well for a healthcare system that was further hit by the Omicron surge earlier this year and is now preparing for the expected fall and winter waves.

“Many of us are concerned about how we provide care for patients with cancer, heart attack, stroke, and more, and we are trying to fill the backlog of care that we have been unable to manage in the last few years. co-author and emergency physician Candice McNaughton, Ph.D.

The study, published Monday in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, looked at healthcare access among 531,702 Ontario residents who had a PCR test between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. did.

Researchers focused on a relatively small group in Ontario who sought treatment for COVID-19 more than eight weeks after diagnosis. Their findings suggest that on average he spent 50% more hospital days in this cohort than his uninfected counterpart.

Analysis suggests that, at its highest, 1% of women are hospitalized 6 1/2 days more than they otherwise would and receive 28 more home care visits per year. 1% of men spent about 9 more days in the hospital, but their need for home care decreased.

While 1% is a small percentage, the sheer demand for increased medical procedures for this subset is straining resources, McNaughton says, and will be even scarcer this year.

She noted a significant increase in COVID-19 infections since the study was conducted, as well as prolonged stays in emergency departments and significant staffing shortages overwhelming children’s hospitals.

The report concludes with a call for significant restructuring and investment in healthcare.

“We started our analysis less than a year ago when things seemed to be converging. I did,” says McNaughton.

“Canada has done a great job of containing the spread of the virus, so there weren’t that many people infected compared to many other countries. But after about a year, more than half of Canadians were infected. and 1% of half the country is a very big problem.”

A more virulent variant of Omicron led to a spike in cases for much of 2022, with 62% of Canadians infected by September, according to the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. This is up from his August 2021 figure of just 5% before Delta Wave.

McNaughton said it’s not clear to what extent the current plight facing many hospitals has been affected by long-running COVID cases, but she noted “complications from previous COVID infections. I’ve seen patients spending 12, 16, 18 hours in the emergency department. She said it is difficult to confirm COVID infection now because PCR tests are no longer readily available.

Too much COVID has continued to confuse clinicians, she adds.

“Patients often have to see multiple doctors to figure out what’s going on. There’s no cure for it. So they find themselves trying different things,” she says.

“For people who are already unwell and feel quite sick, trying to navigate the health care system can be a huge burden on them and their families.”

She said the findings also make a good argument for the return of mask mandates indoors, especially with flu season approaching.

Previous infection does not guarantee that you will not get COVID-19 again, and even mild cases can lead to so-called prolonged COVID, most often defined by symptoms lasting longer than 3 months. increase.

McNaughton said he hopes the government will invest more in hiring and retaining nurses, improve indoor ventilation and resume COVID-19 surveillance measures to better inform the public about the risk of infection. says.

“We hope that individuals, governments and health care leaders can look at this information and plan ahead how they will use the available resources,” said McNaughton, a physician at the Sunnybrook Institute in Toronto.

“Where will we put our forward-looking effort, time, labor and money in a competitive environment?”

Cassandra Szklarski/The Canadian Press

Editorial policy

report an error