Fucruz survey: 50% of patients have symptoms of long-term COVID-19 disease

Half of people diagnosed with covid-19 experience effects that can last for more than a year. A study by Vicruz Minas followed 646 patients for 14 months and found that more than 50% of them had post-infection symptoms, describing what the World Health Organization classifies as a long-term Covid.

In all, the research accounted for 23 presentations after acute infection had cleared. Fatigue, which is extreme fatigue that makes routine activities difficult, is the main complaint among patients. Among the most frequently mentioned consequences are persistent cough, difficulty breathing, loss of sense of smell or taste, and frequent headaches.

In addition, psychological disorders such as insomnia, anxiety and dizziness have caught the attention of researchers. Among the reports, more serious consequences, such as thrombosis, were diagnosed in 20 patients. Another surprise to the researchers is that the results also showed that post-infection symptoms appear in three forms of the disease: severe, moderate and mild.

Rafaella Fortini, a researcher at Fiocruz Minas, who is coordinating the study, stresses that there is still much to be made clear about the long-running coronavirus and that the disease must be given due weight.

The Fucruz Minas study showed that having seven comorbidities, including chronic hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, chronic kidney disease, smoking or alcoholism, resulted in more severe acute injury and increased the chance of sequelae.

The researchers also highlighted the importance of people seeking health services to treat COVID-19.