In a study from the University of Michigan, scientists found about half of adults treated at hospitals for COVID-19 have experienced lingering symptoms, financial difficulties, or physical limitations months after being discharged.
They found after 6 months. cardiopulmonary problems, such as coughing, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and breathlessness, while about half had fatigue or physical limitations – all symptoms associated with long COVID.
Additionally, more than half of the adults said they faced financial challenges.
Based on these data, the researchers say that it seems that many people hospitalized for COVID-19 should expect symptoms to last for up to six months or even longer.
In the study, the team assessed data from the medical records and follow-up surveys of 825 adults who received treatment for COVID at one of 44 medical centers in the United States between August 2020 and July 2021.
Patients were surveyed one, three, and six months after leaving the hospital for general or intensive care treatment.
The researchers found that six months after being hospitalized:
Three-fourths of patients, 75%, had at least one cardiopulmonary problem, such as cough, chest problems; swelling in their legs, ankles, and feet; or a need for home oxygen support.
This represented an increase from the first month, when 67% of patients reported experiencing problems like these.
More than half of patients, 51%, felt fatigued compared to 41% who did so after one month. Almost one in five adults, 18%, felt tired every day.
More than half of patients, 56%, experienced a financial difficulty such as being unable to pay bills, compared to 66% who had problems after one month.
Hispanic and Black participants, as well as participants who reported financial difficulty at one month, were more likely to have experienced financial challenges during the sixth month.
Some 47% of patients reported limitations doing everyday activities, such as eating, preparing meals, bathing, getting dressed, or walking across a room, which represented an improvement compared to the first month, when 55% of patients experienced such limitations.
Symptoms came and went for some patients, creating intervals of recovery. For instance, some adults were free of symptoms after one month but developed symptoms such as heart and chest problems later.
The team says these findings will inform programs designed to help adults recover from severe cases of COVID and guide how physicians should check in with patients in the year following hospitalization.
If you care about Covid, please read studies about antibodies that block all the COVID-19 variants, and people over 50 years old may get shingles after COVID-19.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that common asthma drug may help treat COVID-19, and results showing scientists find the cause of long COVID ‘brain fog’.
The study was conducted by Andrew J. Admon et al and published in JAMA Network Open.
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