NEW DELHI New Delhi: Long-COVID – persistent illness after COVID-19 – is as common as other respiratory infections, according to a study. U.K. A team of researchers from the University of Oxford analyzed data from 190,000 participants. They categorized them as: people hospitalized with Covid and people hospitalized with other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). These were then compared with a reference group in which LRTIs were not hospitalized.
The participants had ear, nose and throat; Respiration; neurological; gastrointestinal; and completed surveys reporting 45 different physical and psychological symptoms seen in the musculoskeletal system. The findings, published in AMA Network Open, showed that people hospitalized with Covid had a higher risk of 23 of the 45 symptoms. Similarly, among those hospitalized for non-Covid LRTI, 18 out of 45 had symptoms. “The post-acute effects of Covid-19 are not unique,” said Dr Junqing Xie of NDORMS at the university. Junqing said these “can also occur with other serious respiratory infections.”
While people with Long Covid are more likely to have persistent fatigue, shortness of breath and even brain fog. Some previous studies have shown that Covid patients are also likely to have persistent loss of taste. However, the latest study also looked at neurological and cognitive symptoms. They found that there were more problems with thinking and communicating than in the reference group. But it was also higher than those hospitalized for other LRTIs.
Junqing called for expanded understanding of the long-term health consequences arising from other acute respiratory infections. This comes as healthcare systems around the world grapple with the after-effects of the Covid pandemic. He also stressed the need to recognize the differences/similarities between post-acute infections caused by a different virus. This may help in planning better preventive measures and tailored care for these patients.
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