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The problems of post-COVID-19 syndrome are not getting enough attention. I am seeing patients every single session with persistent fatigue, generalized weakness and other weird symptoms like partial anosmia.
There's nothing to offer them, even the barest thread of information
There's nothing to offer them, even the barest thread of information
The implications of a prolonged post-COVID-19 syndrome are really staggering.
There are 3.9 million confirmed Covid cases in the US - and we know that is only a fraction of total cases. Let's say we have 6 million total cases.
There are 3.9 million confirmed Covid cases in the US - and we know that is only a fraction of total cases. Let's say we have 6 million total cases.
Let's combine this with an extremely optimistic interpretation of the report on persistent COVID-19 symptoms from Italy in @JAMA_current
At a mean follow up of 60 days (n = 179), 53% of patients still had fatigue and 44% still had worse quality of life.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2768351
At a mean follow up of 60 days (n = 179), 53% of patients still had fatigue and 44% still had worse quality of life.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2768351
Now this is follow-up for hospitalized patients, so rates of persistent symptoms are likely to be worse than for people with mild-moderate disease.
Anecdotally though, I am seeing plenty of persistent symptoms among people who just weathered out COVID-19 at home.
Anecdotally though, I am seeing plenty of persistent symptoms among people who just weathered out COVID-19 at home.
If even a small fraction of the millions of cases in the US result in a chronic fatigue-like syndrome, that's hundreds of thousands of Americans with a new, miserable chronic illness.
Who knows how this will shake out - data is thin and I am extrapolating a lot. But I'm worried.
Who knows how this will shake out - data is thin and I am extrapolating a lot. But I'm worried.
