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By Sangmi Cha
SEOUL (Reuters) – Nine out of 10 coronavirus patients reported experiencing side effects such as fatigue, psychological sequelae and loss of smell and taste after recovering from the disease, according to a preliminary study from South Korea.
The investigation comes as the global death toll from COVID-19 surpassed one million on Tuesday, a grim milestone in a pandemic that has devastated the global economy, overburdened healthcare systems and changed people’s way of life.
In an online survey of 965 recovered COVID-19 patients, 879 people or 91.1% responded that they were suffering from at least one side effect of the disease, said the official from the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency ( KDCA), Kwon Jun-wook, at a briefing.
Fatigue was the most common side effect with a reading of 26.2%, followed by difficulty concentrating at 24.6%, Kwon said.
Other side effects included psychological or mental side effects and loss of taste or smell.
Kim Shin-woo, a professor of internal medicine at the Kyungpook National University School of Medicine in Daegu, sought feedback from 5,762 recovered patients in South Korea and 16.7% of them participated in the survey, Kwon said.
While the research was conducted online for now, lead researcher Kim will soon publish the study with a detailed analysis, he said.
South Korea is also conducting a separate study with some 16 medical organizations on possible complications of the disease through detailed analysis that includes CT scans in patients recovered next year, Kwon said at the briefing.
The country reported 38 new infections as of midnight Monday, a fifth day of double-digit increases, bringing the national count to 23,699 cases, with 407 deaths.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Miyoung Kim)
