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Among young, low-risk patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms, nearly 70 percent have impaired function in one or more organs four months after contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a prominent British study. and discussed this week on it. recognized medical journal British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The study, which includes 201 patients with covid-19, examines the effect of the so-called long covid, long covid, on various organs in people who are initially considered low risk, because they are relatively young and do not have any major underlying health problems.
Participants registered on two UK websites in Oxford and London between April and August 2020.
Researchers have analyzed the results of MRI scans, blood tests, and online questionnaires.
“Evidence of weakening”
The study is still ongoing and the published report is pre-printed and therefore has not yet been peer-reviewed.
The researchers emphasize that this is the first study of its kind.
“In young individuals, largely without risk factors, pre-existing disease, or hospitalization, there was a significant burden of symptoms and evidence of deterioration of the heart, lung, liver, and pancreas four months after COVID-19,” the researchers write.
The study was unable to establish a causal relationship between organ failure and coronavirus infection.
Disappointing findings
Among the patients examined, the incidence of risk factors was low.
20 percent had obesity, 6 percent had high blood pressure, 2 percent had diabetes, and 4 percent had heart disease.
Only 18 percent had been hospitalized with covid-19.
The most commonly reported persistent symptoms were fatigue (98 percent), muscle pain (88 percent), shortness of breath (87 percent), and headache (83 percent).
There were signs of mild organ disorders in the heart in 32 percent of the patients, in the lungs in 33 percent, in the kidneys in 12 percent, in the liver in 10 percent, in the pancreas in 17 percent and in the spleen in 6 percent.
Two-thirds of the participants had impaired functions in one or more organ systems, and there were signs of multi-organ impairment in a quarter of them.
– Due to infection
This is one of several new studies attempting to map the extent of the long-term effects of covid-19 in relatively young people, the so-called long-term covid, which are defined as persistent symptoms three months after infection with coronavirus, assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells Dagbladet.
He notes that it has been known long before that patients with a relatively mild course of the disease can have long-term complaints with weakness, muscle aches, respiratory problems, headaches and other neurological ailments.
– When you simultaneously find that several organs are affected, as in this study, there is reason to believe that the ailments are due to the infection of the virus reviewed, says Nakstad and elaborates:
– We do not yet know how common these ailments are or how long they last, but there are good reasons to continue systematically mapping and following up with COVID-19 patients even after they have suffered from the disease if they have ailments.
The Norwegian Health Directorate is now gathering knowledge on this on an ongoing basis and plans to create a national guide for post-covid-19 follow-up as soon as the knowledge base is good enough, Nakstad says.
