Chronic pain, another of the consequences of those recovered from the coronavirus

ROMA.- A new sequel to the coronavirus that is increasingly common in patients cured after being hospitalized, is a chronic generalized pain, similar to fibromyalgia. This is what anesthetists working in non-cancerous pain centers in Italy say, they receive the first requests for assistance of this type.

“We are starting to see residual pain from Covid-19 in patients who had the disease symptomatically and were hospitalized”, explained Arturo Cuomo, coordinator of the Oncological Pain and Palliative Treatment group of the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Therapy (SIAARTI).

“It is generalized, disabling muscle pain, similar to that of fibromyalgia“, large. Anesthesiologists believe that 2.7% of patients with symptomatic Covid admitted to hospital may suffer from this type of pain. “We believe that in the near future there will be a sharp increase in this type of patient,” he added.

Currently in Italy, according to data from SIAARTI, there are 305 centers that follow patients with severe chronic pain among the “long Covid”, as they are called those with a persistent form of the virus. Among these patients, 50% have back pain, 30% osteoporosis, 11% fibromyalgia.

Specifically, the pandemic has led to the collapse of many pain treatment centers that have been deprived of their specialists, leading to a reduction in the availability of treatment for patients arriving with other illnesses. According to SIAARTI, they sought to alleviate the situation with an acceleration of telemedicine, the use of artificial intelligence and telesurveillance, in particular for checks and follow-ups.

Until now, it was known that the most frequent sequelae of Covid were decreased smell, taste and breathing capacity.

ANSA Agency

ANSA