According to the survey Republic Magazine Among people who have contracted COVID-19, 6 in 10 have noticeable respiratory symptoms, confusion or even tachycardia after they are discharged from the clinic. “Yes, I have already been laid off. But when I do a little intense physical activity, I feel agitated or tired”, is one of the answers that is repeated when asked “How did I recover from COVID-19?”.
Symptoms described by those consulted could match what the World Health Organization has described as “persistent COVID-19”.
The San Luis Department of Health recommends that patients who have been discharged from hospital due to COVID-19 see a doctor if they develop symptoms such as fatigue, headache, disturbances in attention, hair loss (alopecia), shortness of breath (dyspnea), and smell (loss of smell) or taste. (old age), cough or joint pain.
The district’s public health system “begins with a full clinical assessment of the patient, initially, according to the symptoms they presented in the acute phase of COVID-19 and what was observed at the time of the consultation,” said the doctor specializing in general medicine and reference for respiratory and smoking diseases at the Department of Health, Gustavo Juárez. , with a multidisciplinary approach.
In October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially termed the presence of symptoms “for 12 weeks or more as persistent COVID-19,” something that, according to the WHO itself, occurs between 10% and 65% of survivors who have experienced. Of the disease.
In the county, they set out a series of recommendations to consider when evaluating patients who come into the public system, knowing that it “can present as a chronic disease and must be addressed by multidisciplinary teams with ongoing training,” he said. Juarez.
A report prepared by the specialist notes that most patients with COVID-19 fully recover, although some suffer “long-term effects on their bodies, on the pulmonary, cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as psychological effects”.
In it, he cites an investigation stating that more than 40 symptoms and signs were described: “80% of patients showed at least one symptom, which could be: fatigue (58%), headache (44%), alertness (27%), Alopecia areata (25%), shortness of breath (25%), advanced age (23%), loss of smell (21%), arthralgia and cough (19%)”, among the symptoms described by Lopez Leon in “Effects of Más de 50” from COVID-19.”
The effects can occur regardless of the initial severity of the infection, Juarez said, and occur “more frequently in women, middle-aged people, and in patients who showed a greater number of symptoms when they became ill.”
The treatment to be applied to patients with persistent COVID-19 is determined based on relevant evaluations with specialists from kinesiology, psychology and nutrition services, as well as complementary studies such as radiology, electrocardiography, spirometry, or laboratories. “Most of the time, dyspnea (dyspnea) is resolved through kinesiology, the symptoms can go away with treatment in which breathing is re-educated,” the doctor said. He added, “Psychological accompaniment is also very important, because isolation and other situations imposed by the disease generate a great psychological burden.”
Other symptoms that can persist are decreased smell and taste (loss of smell and age), Juarez explained, which primary health care “addresses with different techniques so that the patient can re-educate the senses of smell and taste.”
For her part, Marcella Wehr, Head of the Primary Health Care Program, specified that “work is determined according to the needs of the patient, and treatment is created and implemented with public health professionals.”
Editorial / NTV
