COVID-19 cure is just over: doctor tells his patients how they feel after a few months

You feel tired even after a couple of months.

According to the doctor, a distinction should initially be made between 2 categories of patients, one who had a very slight relapse, similar to an upper respiratory infection, when they had very short symptoms and were not hospitalized. Currently, doctors do not monitor the health of such patients.

The other part of the patients, who were seriously ill, had confirmed pneumonia and were hospitalized for coronavirus, which means that they were in the hospital. These people are now being monitored by doctors. The pulmonologist Edita Strumilienė spoke between these doctors and Delfi.

“Of the confirmed patients who developed COVID-19 pneumonia after one or two months, more than 80 percent have all kinds of complaints, their well-being is definitely not entirely good. The most common complaints are fatigue, general weakness, decreased of exercise tolerance, the person says they cannot return to work because they cannot breathe well, there is severe fatigue in the morning. Such things further prevent them from returning to normal life, “said E. Strumilienė.

Some COVID-19 patients develop pulmonary fibrosis. It is still not possible to say exactly what part of this is happening as it takes time to develop this change. The pulmonologist says the changes, which are only visible a month after illness, can still fade and shrink.

“And fibrosis is already a scar, a permanent change. Of the patients who came to me, more than 60% had changes after the radiological examination. However, not all of them could be called fibrosis. Fibrosis, which will have long-lasting effects on the Life, according to my calculations of my patients, is up to 18 percent, said E. Strumilienė.

– But to know more precisely the long-term consequences, it will take some time: 3 or 6 months, maybe a year. And since the infection did not start long ago in Lithuania, it is still difficult to assess these changes, the body still has time to recover, so the consequences that remain will be clearly visible. “

According to the doctor, for some people, these changes will also cause marked respiratory distress.

“18 percent. There really are quite a few. Since most of the patients were under the age of 70, fit people. Of course, not all of these changes can cause a marked change in breathing, but some do,” said the interlocutor.

What causes these changes in the body?

Pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by a variety of factors, says the doctor. One of them is a very severe and prolonged inflammation of the lungs, which then causes scarring in this organ. The same would happen in any other organ if there was a prolonged inflammation.

“So if there was severe inflammation in the lungs from COVID-19, if a person has been sick for a long time, secondary bacterial infections also contribute. There is also a genetic tendency for some people to form more scars than others, leading to faster pulmonary fibrosis, “said E. Strumilienė.

Some incoming patients had a history of other chronic lung diseases, bronchiectasis, prior to coronavirus disease. For example, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or systemic connective tissue disease that has affected the lungs.

“Those changes that have already occurred with the onset of coronavirus infection and inflammation may begin to progress,” said E. Strumilienė.

Similarly, pulmonary fibrosis can be left behind by other diseases before the coronavirus is contracted, but a person with this disease can live a full life and be active.

“However, if it is a larger area of ​​the lungs, the volume of the lungs decreases, the mobility of the lungs, the metabolism of gases, then the person feels the symptoms.” He feels that it is difficult to inhale, that he cannot be as physically active as before, because his active activity is limited by shortness of breath, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, – said E. Strumilienil.

– If the scope of these changes is small, a person can live a full life normally. Most people with mild to severe COVID-19 pneumonia will probably have no side effects. For some people who have been sick, those phenomena will remain. “

Unfortunately, pulmonary fibrosis is not eliminated, it lasts a lifetime. However, the lungs themselves may help a little to recover.

“For example, after the MERS epidemic, it was observed that recovery processes in the lungs took up to 2 years. It means that some damage is recovered because the recovery capacity of the lungs is really considerable. However, part of the violation will still remain, the interlocutor said.

– For other symptoms, it is known that even after a severe course of the flu, chronic fatigue syndrome persists, such as muscle weakness, fatigue, when a person complains of lack of strength and difficulty working. These symptoms usually disappear gradually with a healthy diet and a slight increase in physical activity. But if you are a working-age person and your symptoms last up to half a year, you probably realize that your productivity and quality of life have definitely been lower for some time. “

There is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis.

So far, according to E. Strumilienė, patients with severe COVID-19 are monitored more closely than treated. Furthermore, there is no cure for pre-existing pulmonary fibrosis.

“But there are also drugs in the world that are being investigated and are expected to stop the formation of fibrosis. If those drugs work, perhaps in the future we will have such treatment that it will be possible to prescribe it to patients at risk and prevent major residual events. Currently there is no specific treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, “said the interlocutor.

It is still not entirely clear who is at increased risk for residual effects after a coronavirus outbreak. However, according to the physician, those who become ill with severe COVID-19 are more likely to experience residual events, severe lung damage that will require pulmonary ventilation, especially those who will require long-term supplemental oxygen and long-term resuscitation treatment.

“But everyone can get a serious form of the disease, not necessarily the elderly or people at risk. The people who came to me were all under the age of 70, and most of them were under the age of 65, ”added E. Strumilienė.