More than three-quarters of the COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Wuhan between January and May had at least one persistent symptom six months later, according to a report predicting the lasting pain of the pandemic.
Nearly two-thirds of those followed still experienced fatigue or muscle weakness six months after their acute illness, while 26% had sleep problems and 23% had anxiety or depression, according to the peer-reviewed study of 1,733 patients. in the medical journal The Lancet. .
The research from China highlights the long-term consequences for individuals and societies as infections increase worldwide, despite emerging vaccination campaigns. It also highlights the growing need for sustained care of large populations and research into the long-term effects of the new disease, according to Bin Cao, a lung specialist at the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases in China and one of the authors.
In addition, the study adds confidence in the concerns about the possibility of re-infections among those who recovered. The researchers analyzed the levels of neutralizing antibodies – immune proteins that the body normally makes – in response to viruses that can repel recurrent diseases. In a group of 94 patients, the levels of these antibodies dropped by an average of 53% during the six-month study period after their disease peaked.
In addition to causing pneumonia, the virus is known to affect the kidneys, heart, blood vessels and other tissues. Laboratory tests showed that 13% of patients whose kidneys appeared healthy during their hospital stay reduced their function in the follow-up examination.
Walk key
For many patients who were severely affected, lung function was still impaired six months later. More than half of the people in need of ventilation had a reduced flow of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream, while about a quarter of the others had the problem.
Patients with serious illnesses also performed worse during a six-minute walk test, with about a quarter of them failing to reach the lower limit of normal range, the study said.
The study followed patients discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan, where the virus originated, and their median age was 57.
“There are few reports on the clinical picture of the aftermath of COVID-19,” researchers from the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan said in an accompanying note, and the Wuhan study is “therefore relevant and timely. “
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