Nagpur: A study presented during the Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Nagpur on Wednesday showed over 62 symptoms persisting over 12 weeks or beyond are signs of long Covid. They include heart palpitations, fatigue, heavy headache, anxiety, depression, shortness of breath, cough, memory loss, anosmia and hyposmia among the most prevalent long Covid symptoms.
These symptoms should get prompt emergency attention if a patient complains of tachycardia more than 100bpm at rest or minimal exertion, chest pain on exertion and drop in blood oxygen level, the study said.
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“People are facing a lot of health complications post coronavirus pandemic. The treatment for COVID-19 infection would last more than 12 weeks. The patients who recovered from the infection suffered loss of cells, loss of sensation, failure to sense smell, the swelling of the cells, the increase in the complication of diabetes, etc. There are 62 types of complications, including hair loss, frequent fatigue, voice change, fear, depression,” echoed experts during a seminar on ‘Long term consequences of post COVID-19 infection’ in Indian Science Congress hosted by Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU).
Dr Devendra Agrawal, Professor at Western University of Health Sciences in the US, made the presentation during the 108th Indian Science Congress currently going on in the city. “The data is from study on over 5 lakh subjects done by the United Kingdom. They studied those who had symptoms and those without any. Highest number of subjects had anosmia — effect on smell. Hair loss, ejaculation difficulty, sneezing, reduced libido, fatigue, pleuritic chest pain, hoarse voice and fever are these symptoms among the majority of them. The paper was published recently,” he said.
The studied population was also divided into three classes. Class I patients formed 80% of those having long Covid complaints mainly abdominal pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression among others. Class 2 patients, about 6%, had cough, shortness of breath, headache among other issues. Class 3 patients, over 14%, had anxiety-depression as a major problem. “These were some of the majority of the symptoms which persisted beyond 12 weeks after Covid infection . These symptoms were also found in subjects with no recorded Covid infection,” he said.
Paediatrician and Infectious Disease Specialist, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. Dr Tanu Singhal delivered a lecture on ‘COVID-19 Associated Secondary Infections’, Psychiatrist and Managing Director of Omaha Insomnia and Psychiatric Services. Dr Vithyalakshmi Selvaraj delivered a lecture on ‘Long term impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health’. Dr Vineet Agarwal presented his dissertation on ‘Cardiovascular complications of COVID-19’. Dr Tanu Singhal said, “Secondary infections have been responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality in the pandemic.
