New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recovered from Covid-19 three days ago, returned to hospital Tuesday with complaints of fatigue and body ache, but he is not alone.
Doctors in Delhi told ThePrint that around 5 per cent of recovered Covid-19 patients have been returning to hospitals with fever, fatigue and breathlessness.
“We have a long list of patients who have chronic complications of Covid-19. This includes prolonged low-grade fever, which extends over two to three weeks, breathlessness, body ache, joint ache, muscle pain for months, decreased appetite, loss in sense of taste of food,” said Dr Sharad Joshi, principal consultant for pulmonology at Max Healthcare, Vaishali.
“Out of the total patients who have been discharged after testing Covid-negative, 5 per cent return to hospitals citing such complications,” he added.
Dr Vikas Maurya, director and head for the department of pulmonology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, said, “Most of the patients returning to hospitals are the ones who had experienced the most severe form of the viral disease.”
Referring to patients whose Covid treatment included a stint in the ICU, he said 40 per cent “complain of shortness of breath, cough and fatigue” after recovery.
A doctor from a government hospital, however, said it is “too early to comment on this”. “It is also the monsoon season, so such complaints are rather frequent,” he added.
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Scarring of the lungs may be a factor
The claims that several recovered patients continue to experience illness have also been explored through scientific studies.
Earlier this month, Chinese media reported that a study involving 100 recovered patients in Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic began last year, had discovered continued lung damage in 90 per cent of the subjects.
In July, an Italian study published in the reputed JAMA, involving 143 recovered patients two months after the onset of the first symptom, found over 85 per cent had at least one symptom. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue and dyspnea (shortness of breath).
The Delhi doctors reached by ThePrint for this report said the post-Covid symptoms may be a result of “pulmonary fibrosis” or scarring of the lungs.
“Most of the patients who experienced chest problems (during treatment) may get a post-Covid fibrosis, which decreases the lung capacity and makes the patient breathless,” said Dr S.P. Byotra, emeritus consultant at Delhi-based Sri Ganga Ram Hospital.
“Largely, there are two kinds of problems that patients have complained about, a low-grade fever and breathlessness or chest congestion. With time, the fever goes away and it’s not a problem. However, chest problems require hospitalisation and, in the long run, it could turn into permanent lung damage,” he added.
Dr G.C. Khilnani, former head of AIIMS’ pulmonary medicine and sleep disorders department, said, “Those patients developing lung fibrosis are the ones who experienced pneumonia of both lungs during their Covid treatment.”
“Some of these symptoms are reversible and patients require physical rehabilitation and breathing exercises,” added Khilnani. “However, some patients who develop lung fibrosis may face permanent disability.”
Asked about the treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, Dr Joshi said, “The treatment for lung damage, Covid-19 and fibrosis is poles apart. So, we start by giving some steroids in higher doses and anti-fibrosis drugs…
“Unfortunately, there are no predictors or biochemical markers in the blood or in the body, which predict that a particular patient will have pulmonary fibrosis and chronic problems,” he added. “If we can predict it in some way, maybe we can take preventive steps. This is the most unfortunate part.”
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