Half Of Patients Hospitalized With Covid In Wuhan Still Have Symptoms A Year Later, Study Finds

[2greys]

Around half of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 during the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, still had health problems 12 months on and a number showed signs of impaired lung functioning and lung abnormalities, according to research published Thursday in the Lancet, highlighting the lingering and debilitating symptoms that Covid-19 can cause in some patients for weeks and months after infection.

Key Facts

The peer-reviewed study, which assessed the health of some 1,276 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in Wuhan between January and May 2020 at six and 12 months after infection, found survivors a year later to be in worse health than those who had not had Covid-19.

Though most patients recovered from symptoms after one year, the researchers found just under half (49%) experienced at least one ongoing symptom, with fatigue or muscle weakness the most commonly reported symptom in 20% of patients.

Nearly one in three patients still experienced shortness of breath a year later, the researchers found, and of the smaller number of patients who underwent chest CT scans and lung function tests, a significant number displayed lung abnormalities and impaired function, the latter of which did not improve from measurements taken at six months.

These problems were more common among patients who needed ventilation while in hospital—54% displayed impaired lung function and 87% showed abnormalities on their scans—but were not infrequent in patients who did not need help breathing (23% had impaired lung function and 39% showed lung abnormalities).

The proportion of recovering patients reporting mental health issues was slightly higher at 12 months than at six, the study showed, with 26% experiencing anxiety and depression, a three-point jump from the six-month point and much greater than reports from those who had not had Covid-19 (5%).

The hospitalized survivors were also more likely to experience pain or discomfort at 12 months (29% reported this) than those who did not contract Covid-19 (5%), as well as being more likely to experience mobility problems (9%) than that group (4%).

forbes.com/sites/roberthart...

The Lancet. Peer Reviewed Study Paper:

thelancet.com/journals/lanc...

[Badbessie]

This makes one wonder what the true figure in the UK is. The extent of damage to lungs in those with long covid. Is still not known as follow up testing and scans have still not been done. I know this study is from hospitalised infections but there are some alarming reports of breathing difficulties in many that were not hospitalised,

[2greys in reply to Badbessie]

I agree, I know my breathing has been noticeably worse,since Covid. There has been no follow-up for it, although to be fair I have a few other conditions that could be the cause. Covid also has an affect those conditions, so it is not straight forward at all.

[Badbessie in reply to 2greys]

Yes other conditions can confuse the picture. I could answer yes to many questions on the Zoe app. The real question is am I in flair from my other conditions as I normally have fatigue, muscle and joint pain and since being ill before the first lockdown my breathing as been mildly worse. Is it due to covid or just a natural progression of my conditions. Due to the present situation I will not get answers any time soon.