NEW research has found that the novel coronavirus can affect a variety of bodily systems in addition to the lungs. As a result, survivors may have to deal with a wide range of ailments long after the virus has passed.
It can take 6 weeks or longer Trusted Source for patients in critical condition to fully recover, the World Health Organization reported.
Those who were treated in the ICU may need help gaining mobility again even after the virus has left their system.
Even those never hospitalized for Covid-19 may need to go to rehab to help their injured lungs recover.
Symptoms linger after virus has passed
A March studyTrusted Source published in journal Lancet found that hospitalized survivors from China experienced a myriad of ailments after having Covid-19. Of the survivors, just 1 percent were put on ventilators.
Still, 42 percent had sepsis, 36 percent had respiratory failure, 12 percent had heart failure, 7 percent experienced acute respiratory distress syndrome, and 7 percent had problems with blood clotting.
A July 2020 multi-state survey Trusted Source conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at symptomatic adults who tested positive for Covid-19 on an outpatient basis. Of them, 35 percent were not back to their usual health at 2 to 3 weeks after testing. Among those ages 18 to 34 with no chronic medical issues, 1 in 5 reported they were not fully recovered.
How an ICU stay can affect the brain
Doctors typically focus on improving physical strength and respiratory function in those were hospitalized. Lung, liverTrusted Source, gastrointestinal, kidney, and respiratory issues are common side effects of the coronavirus, especially in those who were older or had severe cases. But they aren’t the only issues survivors face.
“After having Covid-19, it’s very difficult for some patients to think clearly, to process things,” said Dr. E. Wesley Ely, co-director of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The mental toll of a serious illness
Depression and sadness are common in people with PICS, but Ely is seeing it in Covid-19 survivors, who also report trauma and nightmares. “All of these can happen to people who weren’t ever hospitalized,” Ely said. “It’s worse if you were.”
Some mental health issues may be due to isolation many survivors faced, but there may be biological linksTrusted Source to blame.
