Deputy Director of Covid-19 Hospital: Recovery time for 10 symptoms of post-Covid-19

Associate Professor Hoang Bui Hai – Deputy Director of Hanoi Covid-19 Hospital, head of the Emergency – Resuscitation Department – ​​Hanoi Medical University Hospital said that post-Covid-19 includes a series of symptoms (physical and mental) that develop. develops during or after Covid-19, continues for 2 months and is not explained by another diagnosis.

According to Associate Professor Hai, after Covid-19 patients may exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:

1. Less common persistent somatic symptoms include insomnia, joint pain, headache, rhinitis, gastrointestinal disturbances, poor appetite, dizziness (posture, postural tachycardia or dizziness), muscle pain, hair loss, sweating and diarrhea.

Some symptoms go away faster than others. For example, fever, chills, and olfactory/discharge symptoms usually resolve within 2–4 weeks, while fatigue, dyspnea, chest tightness, cognitive impairment, and psychological effects may persist for months (from 2 to 12 months).

2. Fatigue, weakness and lack of stamina (13-87%): fatigue is the most common symptom experienced by patients whether hospitalized or not. Although fatigue resolves in most patients, it can be profound and persist for 3 months or longer, especially in ICU survivors.

3. Dyspnea (10-71%): may persist, end slowly in most patients for 2 – 3 months, sometimes longer (12 months).

4. Chronic cough (17-34%): In some studies, many patients had a persistent cough 2 – 3 weeks after the initial symptoms. Most patients recover from cough after 3 months and rarely persist after 12 months.

5. Chest discomfort: Chest discomfort is common and may go away slowly. Chest discomfort persists in 12-22% of patients approximately 2 to 3 months after acute Covid-19 infection, rarely longer.

6. Changes in taste and smell: Several studies have examined the recovery of olfactory symptoms and vomiting in Covid-19 patients. Most recover completely or almost completely 1 month after acute illness, although in some studies these symptoms persisted for longer. Patients with hyponatremia and male patients may recover more quickly than those with anemia or who are female.

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7. Neurocognitive symptoms – Data show that concentration and memory problems persist for 6 weeks or more in Covid-19 patients after hospital discharge.

8. Psychology – Observational studies report that psychological symptoms (eg, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder) are common after acute Covid-19 infection, in which anxiety is the most popular. In general, psychological symptoms improve over time but can persist for more than 6 months for a small group of survivors. People who are hospitalized have a greater risk of persistent psychological symptoms.

9. In other studies, nearly half of Covid-19 survivors reported worsening quality of life, 22% had anxiety/depression, and 23% of patients were found to have persistent psychological symptoms after 3 months.

10. In a small number of reports in children, the most frequently reported symptoms were fatigue (3%) and poor concentration (2%).

Assoc.

A longer course of recovery in patients requiring hospitalization, older patients with underlying medical conditions, and patients who have experienced medical complications (eg, bacterial pneumonia, venous thrombosis pulse) and patients requiring prolonged hospitalization or intensive care.

Moderate to severe covid-19 hospitalized patients with symptoms for at least 2 months and even longer up to 12 months after discharge accounted for 52%-87%.

However, the data show that even patients with less severe illness who have never been hospitalized, including those who self-report Covid-19, also report persistent and persistent symptoms.
To date, post-Covid-19 symptoms have been reported to have a shorter recovery time of about 2 weeks for those with mild illness and a longer recovery time of 2-3 months or longer for those with severe illness. than.

Khanh Chi