LONDON, Sept 18, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – More than half of patients and staff with
Covid-19 monitored by an Irish hospital suffered persistent fatigue in the
aftermath of the initial disease, according to a new study Friday
highlighting the “significant burden” of lingering symptoms.
It comes as patient groups and doctors call for more research into the
medium- and long-term effects of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which has
sickened more than 30 million people across the world and killed at least
943,000.
“Whilst the presenting features of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been well-
characterised, the medium- and long-term consequences of infection remain
unexplored,” said Liam Townsend, of St James’s Hospital and Trinity
Translational Medicine Institute at Trinity College Dublin.
The study, which tracked 128 participants at St James’s Hospital, found
that 52 percent reported persistent fatigue when they were assessed an
average of 10 weeks after “clinical recovery” from infection, regardless of
how serious their initial infection was.
The preliminary study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, included 71
people who had been admitted to hospital and 57 employees of the hospital who
had mild illness. The average age was 50 and all participants had tested
positive for Covid-19.
Researchers looked at a variety of potential factors, including the
severity of the initial illness and pre-existing conditions, including
depression.
They found that it made no difference whether a patient had been
hospitalised or not.
However, they did find that women, despite making up just over half of the
participants (54 percent), accounted for two-thirds of those with persistent
fatigue (67 percent).
Those with a previous history of anxiety or depression were also found to
be more likely to have fatigue.
The authors said the findings showed that more work was needed to assess
the impact of Covid-19 on patients in the longer term.
“Our findings demonstrate a significant burden of post-viral fatigue in
individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection after the acute phase of
Covid-19 illness,” they concluded.
– ‘Long Covid’ –
The study, which is being presented at the European Society of Clinical
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Conference on Coronavirus Disease
(ECCVID) later this month, suggested those affected are “worthy of further
study and early intervention”.
As the pandemic has scorched its way across the planet, most attention has
been focused on the immediate impact, measured by hospital admissions and
deaths.
But it has become increasingly clear that the virus can reverberate long
after a patient has “recovered”.
Online support groups across the world have attracted thousands of members
looking for help and advice about ongoing illness.
In July, a study of recovered hospital patients in Italy found that 87
percent were still suffering at least one symptom 60 days after falling ill.
Fatigue and breathing difficulties were the most common.
Researchers from King’s College London, which is behind a large-scale
symptom-tracking project, estimate that one in 10 people using the app still
have symptoms after 30 days and some remain unwell for months.
“We are increasingly seeing evidence of ‘long Covid’, and fatigue is one of
the commonly reported side effects. This study highlights that fatigue was
experienced in both hospitalised patients and in those with milder initial
presentations,” said Michael Head, of the University of Southampton,
commenting on the latest research.
“The emerging extent of long Covid is why it is important to reduce
community transmission, even among younger groups of people who are not
immediately seriously ill.”