COVID-19’s’serious and long-term effects’ may improve over time, early evidence suggests

Covid-19 can have lasting effects on the body, but it is expected that patients will not only recover over time, but will also recover more quickly with pulmonary rehabilitation, a preliminary study suggests. I will.

Two early research reports released Monday European Respiratory Society International Conference It explains that a severe infection with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can leave permanent damage to the lungs and, in some cases, psychological harm.

“The bad news is that people show lung damage from COVID 19 weeks after discharge. The good news is that disorders tend to improve over time. It has a mechanism by which the lungs repair themselves. “Savina Sahanik, a clinical doctoral student at a university clinic in Innsbruck, Austria, said the report in a news release.

So far, only new research summaries have been published, and the findings are preliminary, but shed new light on the long-term effects of Covid-19.

“Continuous shortness of breath”

Sahanic research Data from 86 severe Covid-19 patients enrolled in the study from April to June were included. At a news conference on Friday, Sahanick said the patients were evaluated 6 weeks after discharge and then again 12 weeks later.

Each assessment includes lab tests, lab tests, lung function analysis, chest CT scans, and echocardiography of the heart, Sahanick said. The survey continues with a third assessment at week 24.

Six weeks later, Sahanic of Austria and her colleagues found that 65.9% of patients had persistent Covid-19 symptoms, with shortness of breath and cough being the most common.

“Approximately 50% of the study population had persistent shortness of breath 6 weeks after discharge, improving slightly until the second visit,” Sahanic said. Regarding CT findings, we found that about 88% of the study population still showed pathological findings on the first visit and improved to 56% on the second visit.”

The researchers also pointed out in their research summary that some patients had left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in the heart. This refers to an inability of the ventricles to reach their normal volume and abnormal lung function.

“Covid-19 survivors have sustained lung damage for weeks after recovery, but with moderate improvement over time,” Sahanick said. “Therefore, structured follow-up in Covid-19 survivors should be considered.”

These preliminary findings are presented only and are not published in peer-reviewed journals. There are also limitations, such as a small sample of patients and many study participants smoking. Further research is needed to determine if similar findings will appear in a larger and more diverse patient group.

Road to recovery

Another study, presented at an international conference of the European Respiratory Society on Friday, found that 19 patients with severe Covid-19 undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation early in the recovery process had lung volume, balance, muscle strength, We have found that it is associated with improvement in fatigue and certain risk factors of depression and anxiety.

French-based researchers say that patients who “reduced bedtime” between intensive care and pulmonary rehabilitation recovered faster. Wrote in their research summary..

However, the ability to walk did not appear to fully recover, so further rehabilitation may be needed and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder with Covid-19 do not appear to have improved.

“At a psychological level, some patients had severe post-traumatic stress disorder after intubation but did not improve after rehabilitation.” A PhD student at the Dieulefit Santé Clinic for pulmonary rehabilitation in France Yara Al Chikhanie said the study was at a press conference on Friday.

“I suffered from memory and flashbacks,” she said, “she had nightmares and a rapid heartbeat every time she was hospitalized from Covid-19, thinking about intubation and flashback,” said Al Chikhanie. “She remembers nothing but wants to extubate herself.”

Preliminary findings have some limitations. This includes the need for more research to investigate rehabilitation of larger patient groups. The findings are not published in peer-reviewed journals.

Overall, there is anecdotal evidence that many patients have suffered debilitating long-term sequelae of coronavirus since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Thierry Tolsters, chairman of the European Respiratory Society. A survey was conducted, but a press conference was held on Friday.

“Dr. Sahanick’s presentation is important because it is one of the first comprehensive prospective follow-ups of these patients, showing the profound and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the lungs and heart. “More than half of the patients in the study have lung and heart damage 12 weeks after discharge, and it’s painful to hear that nearly 40% still suffer from symptoms such as shortness of breath.” “The Al Chikhanie study supplements this information. But it shows how essential it is to start pulmonary rehabilitation as soon as the patient is physically resumable.”