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People with the COVID-19 virus have a good chance of developing what are known as lengthy COVID complications.
Speaking during the Ministry of Health’s virtual COVID-19 update on Wednesday, Dr Sana Mohammed, COVID-19 consultant at Couva hospital and multiple training center, said he is has become increasingly clear that for some patients the effects of the COVID-19 virus.
Mohammed said that Long COVID refers to the signs and symptoms that occur during or after infection with COVID-19, which persist for more than four weeks and are not explained by another medical condition.
She noted that the symptoms of long-term COVID are highly variable, the most reported being fatigue, severe fatigue, and shortness of breath.
Symptoms related to Long COVID include respiratory, dermatological, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological, psychological / psychiatric, generalized symptoms, as well as symptoms of the ears, nose and throat.
“Many patients express an increasing and decreasing nature of the disease, where you feel like one minute you’ve recovered, but then it hits you. One patient described it as a constant cycle of disappointments, not only for you, but for those around you who genuinely want you to recover.
She said patients can sometimes feel isolated and are the only ones with lingering symptoms after COVID-19 infection. But as they go on their journey, they begin to realize that other patients have the same symptoms.
Sharing data from a COVID-19 study that investigated more than 4,000 patients in three different countries, Mohammed pointed out that while the study has not yet been peer reviewed, it contains a large body of data that has shown some trends in long-term COVID, and added that as the data increases, they will be able to identify groups of patients at risk.
According to the data presented, people reporting more than five symptoms in the week of onset increase their chances of developing long-term COVID.
In addition, 13.3% of the sample population had symptoms for more than 28 days, while 4.5% had symptoms for a period of eight weeks or more and 2.3% had symptoms for longer. 12 weeks.
Mohammed noted that while the elderly population was at greater risk of contracting long-term COVID, with the over 70 age group accounting for 21.9% of patients tested, there was a significant finding of 10% in group d. age 18-49.
And while women (14.9%) were more susceptible than men (9.5%), this was not true for older groups, as long-term COVID affected all socio-economic groups.
“Asthma was the only pre-existing condition associated with long COVID and people with long COVID were more likely to need a hospital evaluation.
“So it’s important for us to note that long-term COVID cases can occur in young, previously healthy people who were not admitted to hospital. The common perception that this is a disease of the elderly is unrealistic and young people can certainly continue to suffer from a long COVID, ”Mohammed said.
She said that in addition to the many health consequences of long-term COVID, there is also a psychological, social, financial and economic burden for some patients.
“Some patients may be unable to work and have great difficulty returning to work after infection with COVID-19. Some of our patients have difficulty returning to their normal daily function after infection. “
However, she noted that complications from infections with viruses are not new and referred to the neurological complications associated with Zika as well as the long-term effects experienced by people with the Chikungunya virus.
“The concept of symptoms or long-term complications of viral infections must therefore be widely accepted. And while COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus, which is a different virus, it’s important for us to recognize the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection.
Mohammed said this is especially important for those who believe that if they contract COVID-19 they will simply recover and their chances of dying are low, especially for those who are young with no pre-existing health issues.
“And while that may be true, I want to stress that even in this group, it is certainly possible to experience long-term COVID and long-term health consequences from COVID-19 infection.”
She said that in managing long-term COVID, patients benefit from a holistic approach in which education is essential to both patients and the healthcare professionals who care for patients in terms of the services available to them. assessment and management of this difficult patient group.
Mohammed said that in realizing the holistic approach, two executive wellness centers, located at Arima General Hospital and Couva Hospital and Multiple Training Center, were conceptualized to treat the patients infected with COVID-19, some of whom have a long COVID.
“These clinics are specialty clinics and use a multidisciplinary team approach that is the standard of care for the management of these patients.
“So given the multitude of symptoms of long-term COVID and the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 infection, it is likely that a large number of patients will experience complications from COVID-19. This will have a significant impact on our health systems for years to come.
“It is therefore extremely important for us the population to follow all the public health directives constantly advised by the Ministry of Health. The only way to prevent Long COVID is to prevent infection with COVID-19, ”Mohammed said.
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