COVID symptoms and recovery: Patients who have been critically ill with COVID-19 include those that have had persistent cough, shortness of breath and some physical limitations because of being critically ill and in bed for a long time: Dr Janet Diaz, WHO.
Post-intensive care syndrome occurs in people who were critically ill
HIGHLIGHTS
- More research is needed about post-COVID symptoms
- It can occur in patients who have been critically ill with COVID-19
- Patients who had been hospitalised in intensive care are also included
Many people continue to experience symptoms, even after recovering from COVID-19. Experts believe that patients who get severely ill with COVID-19, and those that end up in the hospital and those that go to intensive care, can develop post-intensive care syndrome. This syndrome has been described well before the COVID-19 pandemic, in patients who have been critically ill, says Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care at World Health Organization (WHO). Thus, there can be seen prolonged symptoms and functional limitations in patients who have been critically ill with COVID-19.
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Patients who have been critically ill with COVID-19 include those that have had persistent cough, shortness of breath and some physical limitations because of being critically ill and in bed for a long time, Dr Diaz says in the IGTV uploaded by WHO.
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"There are smaller reports of patients who were not hospitalised. In patients who got mildly ill from COVID-19, there are reports that those patients have continued to have some protracted symptoms like coughing, some shortness of breath, breathing troubles and extensive symptoms of fatigue," says Dr Diaz.
One may experience symptoms like cough and shortness of breath even after recovering from COVID-19
Photo Credit: iStock
This concern needs to be better understood for patients with mild disease, without any potential risk factors.
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For how long do symptoms last after recovering from COVID-19?
"Speaking of non-COVID hospitalised patients, those who have been severely ill and have spent time in intensive care, studies have shown that they may have symptoms for up to six months or even one year after hospitalisation. This phenomenon is also known as post-intensive care syndrome," Dr Diaz informs.
This could be in amongst 50% of the patients, she adds, while making an indirect link of these patients to those who were hospitalised and critically ill form COVID-19.
Enough information is not available for patients who got mildly ill form COVID-19. Till then, the most important take away from this is that it is important to continue taking precautions like practicing hand hygiene, social distancing and wearing a mask.
"Also, we need to understand better how many people will suffer from prolonged symptoms, how many of them were hospitalised in intensive care, and how many of these are younger people who had mild illness but still suffer from symptoms after recovering COVID-19," she asserts while inferring more research is needed in the subject of symptoms after recovery.
Also read: What To Do When A Cancer Patient Tests Positive For COVID-19?
(Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care at WHO)
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