1 in 8 patients who have recovered from COVID-19 die within 5 months: study

Almost a third of recovered COVID-19 patients end up in hospital within five months – and up to one in eight die from complications of the disease, according to a report.

Researchers at the University of Leicester in the UK and the Office for National Statistics found that of 47,780 people discharged from hospital, 29.4% were readmitted within 140 days, the Telegraph reported.

Of the total, 12.3% succumbed to the disease, he added.

Many people who suffer from the long-term effects of the coronavirus develop heart problems, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney disease, according to the report.

“People seem to go home, have long term effects, come back and die. We find that almost 30% have been readmitted, and that’s a lot of people. The numbers are so big, ”said study author Kamlesh Khunti.

“The message here is that we really need to prepare for a long COVID. It is a gigantic task to keep track of these patients and the NHS is really pushed at the moment, but some kind of surveillance needs to be organized, ”added Khunti, professor of primary care in diabetes and vascular medicine at the University of Leicester. .

The study – which Khunti described as the largest of those discharged from a hospital after being admitted with COVID-19 – found that survivors were almost 3 1/2 times more likely to be readmitted and die in 140 days than other ambulatory patients.

Khunti said the researchers were surprised that many people had been readmitted with a new diagnosis, adding that it was important to make sure people were on protective therapy, including statins and aspirin.

“We don’t know if it’s because COVID has destroyed the beta cells that make insulin and you have type 1 diabetes, or if it’s causing insulin resistance and you are developing the type. 2, but we’re seeing these surprising new diagnoses of diabetes, ”he told me.

“We have seen studies where survivors have had MRS scans and they have heart problems and liver problems,” Khunti added. “These people are in urgent need of follow-up and must take medications like aspirin and statins.”

The new study has been posted on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer reviewed.