According to experts, the health of every third patient who has recovered from the coronavirus can suffer for a lifetime: long-term damage can be done it easy, he may suffer from chronic fatigue and psychological disorders.
Experts believe that more and more there is evidence that the coronavirus is able to cause prolonged or even permanent injury may hurt the human brain and increase the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease.
The recommendations of the National health service (National Health Service), which failed to meet the newspaper “Telegraph” says that about 30% of the patients recovered after being infected with coronavirus may have damaged lung tissue, if the consequences will be the same as after other such diseases.
This means that such effects can encounter about 100 thousand people 300 thousand people infected in the United Kingdom. At the same time, a limited number of tests means that there may be more.
According to some estimates, about 3.5 million people in the United Kingdom can get covid-19, and this means that more than a million people can get a long-term negative consequences as a result of this disease.
In conversation with the correspondent of the newspaper “Telegraph” the head of the new center for the treatment of covid-19 in the structure of the National health service reported that she was concerned about the lack of knowledge concerning the consequences of the disease.
Dr Hilary Floyd (Hilary Floyd), Director of the clinic center of the National health service (NHS Seacole Centre), said that he was shocked by how young were her patients, and now healthy people who were 40-50 years old at the time of disease long time will suffer from fatigue and may lose the ability to work.
“Maybe they all life will suffer from lack of energy”
That’s what the doctor said Floyd in an interview with the Telegraph: “These people used to be independent, manage their business, went to the gym, swimming, was active, and now they are in such a state that soon will not be able to get out of bed”.
“At the moment we have a couple of patients aged over 40 years, and we really expected nothing of the kind. We thought they were much older. We have seen many patients over the age of 50 and even 60, who actively fought with his disease, including the fact that their desire to return to a normal life was much harder.”
“Perhaps they are now your whole life will suffer from lack of energy”, she added.
The recommendations of the National center of health General practitioners (GP) and social services warns that up to half of which is in intensive care patients with covid-19 may, “will have a permanent physical, mental and psychological problems,” including chronic fatigue.
While about 13 thousand patients received this kind of treatment. While every tenth of the recovered in the United Kingdom after the treatment of coronavirus has received serious violations in the work of the heart, the document says the National center for health.
In many cases, fatigue and shortness of breath was so severe that the patients were able, under the supervision of physicians, to demonstrate just a 10-minute activity, said Dr. Floyd.
For employed doctors the most frightening aspect of this crisis is that very little is known about long-term consequences of coronavirus, she said.
“We don’t know how long will be the consequences. We don’t know whether people who are now 50 and 60 years, much weaker or they will have an increased risk of dementia in 20 years.”
This center, in the County of Surrey, in the building formally an unused military hospital, Headley Court (Headley Court), was opened four weeks ago, and already soon there can be treated up to 300 patients.
Professor Peter Openshaw (Peter Openshaw), part of the government Advisory group on the treatment of new respiratory viruses (Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group — Nervetag), said: “We are very concerned about the large number of patients who after hospitalization and discharge from the hospital requires additional treatment.”
“A lot of people for a long time suffer the consequences of this disease, especially if it was held in great form,” he said.
According to him, those patients who were in the ICU, you will need about a year to fully restore health, and some won’t be able to do so.
Professor Openshaw, an immunologist from Imperial College London (Imperial College London), said that of particular concern to him cause patients, who have formed a large number of blood clots can block the flow of blood in some part of the lungs, which will slow down the healing process.
While other patients showed a “chronic lung scarring” as a result of pneumonia, he added.
According to the immunologist, the situation with lasting effects covid-19 only gradually becomes clear, he believes that approximately every tenth patient was hospitalized because of infection with the coronavirus, would have “fairly constant problem.”
In the recommendations published by the National health service (England) regarding primary care and social services, including General practitioners and other specialists providing care outside hospitals, suggests that almost one third of infected covid-19, may have after recovery long-lasting negative consequences if you focus on the impact of such viruses.
“Approximately 30% of survivors after a global outbreak of disease caused by SARS-CoV and middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), was then suffering from permanent psychological ailments and abnormal radiology (radiology abnormal) associated with fibrioznoy lung diseases. Experts believe that pulmonary fibrosis (pulmonary fibrosis), that is, the lung is likely to be an important residual phenomenon caused by covid-19”, — stressed in these recommendations.
“We get knowledge on the go”
Employees of the health system launches next month recovery program for all patients affected by covid-19. The UKvisas website will contain recommendations for all those who are recovering after Contracting coronavirus. It will track the symptoms and to give advice to those who need specific rehabilitation assistance regarding proper treatment.
In accordance with the data of the National health service, every seventh patient who underwent treatment in the intensive care unit, can receive long-term or permanent problems with the brain. 70% of the total number of such patients will suffer a disorder of consciousness, and every fifth of them formed the “persistent problems of intellectual disorders,” says the document.
According to the National health service, the average damage in the brain can be detected in approximately a quarter of patients affected by acute respiratory failure. As highlighted in the published document, this, in turn, may increase the risk of diseases such degenerative disorders as Alzheimer’s disease.
Experts are particularly concerned about the possibility of prolonged or chronic fatigue. According to them, you need to quickly make the appropriate treatment in order to reduce the risk of long-term syndromes.
“As covid-19, the major, apparently, will be respiratory problems, so we can use the experience of treating those patients who have had a similar respiratory problems,” said Dr. Janet Scott (Janet Scott), an expert on the treatment of residual postoronnih phenomena and lecturer of clinical disciplines at the Center of virus research at the University of Glasgow (University of Glasgow-MRC Center for Virus Research).
“40% of those people who discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome (namely, a syndrome characteristic of patients with covid-19), then have problems trying to cope with daily Affairs.”
“As for SARS, that a certain proportion of patients problems continued for two years,” she said.
But that still added Dr. Scott: “some patients there post traumatic stress, anxiety or depression. Some patients suffering from the syndrome of chronic fatigue, fear of acute encephalomyelitis (myalgic encephalomyelitis — ME), but not in all cases postirochnaja weakness becomes chronic fatigue syndrome (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) — and, in addition, you will need to determine the main cause of any fatigue, even if these symptoms are more long-lasting.”
However, according to her, the inability of testing in hospitals does not allow to assess the real extent of long-term complications.
However, she believes that the experience gained in the treatment of other diseases shows that long-term negative consequences can be widespread.
“In the aftermath of the epidemic of Ebola survivors every once infected person has received in one way or another long term damage, and 70% of them suffered from persistent pain syndrome. Approximately 80% infected with the virus had disorders moderate and severe, whereas in the normal population, this figure stood at 11%”, — she said.
Professor John Hurst (John Hurst), a specialist in respiratory diseases at University College London (University College London) believes that the national health service was well prepared for a large-scale epidemic, but too little has been done in the field of planning and accounting long-term needs of those patients who recover after covid-19.
“In the Northern part of London, we monitor our people mainly by phone and find that about one in five have symptoms after four or six weeks.”
“These include shortness of breath and cough, and fatigue, which is found very often.”
Professor Hurst, a member of the research Committee of the British thoracic society (British Thoracic Society’s science and research committee), said this: “We expect that some portion of patients will have pulmonary fibrosis We want to identify these patients at an early stage, however, the General approach in this case does not exist, and we are forced to obtain the necessary knowledge on the go”.
Specific cases
“I really wrote a will”
46-year-old Louise Barnes (Louise Barnes) from Suffolk — one of many patients who are still paying the price for infection with coronavirus after three months.
Ms. Barnes, a teacher by profession, talks about the “horrible” symptoms from which she continues to suffer such severe night cramps that she compares them with convulsions and vomiting, tinnitus and discomfort in the chest.
It can be called a patient of so-called “long turn” — her only once checked on the covid-19, because in those days, hospitals generally were not testing suspected cases.
According to Ms. Barnes, appeared long-lasting consequences caused her such a sense of loneliness that she started a support group on the Internet, which is now almost a thousand people, and almost all of them have similar symptoms.
“When I got sick, I was just thinking that it will be possible to recover. Everyone was talking about recovery in two or three weeks, but what is happening actually causes fear.”
Ms. Barnes, which had autoimmune disease, first felt the signs covid-19 March 18, including a sharp headache, severe sore throat, and chest tightness.
After telephone communication with the emergency services in the National health service and conduct an online research to her house, drove an ambulance. Due to the high temperature she was taken to the hospital where she spent the night.
She took a swab and the next day sent home, but the result of the test she never received, because he was unsuccessful. At the same pain she did not stop, and she twice returned to the hospital.
“The strain on my lungs was horrible, she said. — I actually wrote a will. I thought I’ll never survive.”
According to her, many members of her postirochnoy group have been tested for the presence of antibodies, but the results were always negative, even if it was about people who had discovered the coronavirus.
“I feel very lonely, she said. Support, no no, and we need more help. How many more of these people who think the same and not rely on anyone?”
“Many family members of people infected do not believe that the disease is still ongoing. The symptoms can come and go, but my health is not improving, and I am very concerned about what awaits me in the future.”
“I had trouble breathing for several months”
Professor Peter Piot (Peter Piot) it took several months for recovery.
Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London school of tropical medicine (London School of Tropical Medicine) is one of the leading experts in the field of viruses. He got sick covid-19 three months ago, he had a high fever and sharp pain in my head, they put him in the hospital for treatment with oxygen. Professor Piot was among the people who suffer from long-term consequences for several months.
According to him, many other people — one of them may be Boris Johnson, who was placed in the intensive care unit after being infected with coronavirus, can face serious problems after recovery, they will feel empty and devoid of vitality.
“Many people have this condition after the acute phase… after the virus was brought under control, but the effects of this disease were long-term. As for me, my lungs become stiff, and it happened as a result of inflammatory reaction of the body. As a result, I for several months had serious shortness of breath, while many have other problems, chronic lung problems, and kidney failure”, — he said during the programme, Andrew Marr (Andrew Marr) on channel Bi-bi-si.
Responding to a question whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson to cope with many hours of work after suffering in an acute form covid-19, Professor Piot said “everything will depend on how the good work of his team.”
“Of course, people will not be able to work with the same energy as before. However, it is known that in some cases there is fairly rapid recovery, not all, in other cases the picture is quite different. Some people will for many months to suffer from fatigue. I’m not familiar with the condition of the Prime Minister of the country, so can’t say anything definite”.
