Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Scientists are beginning to understand that many health problems are caused by the new corona virus that causes Covid-19. Some of them may have inherent effects on patients and the health system as a whole for many years.
In addition to breathing problems that make the patient breathless, the virus also attacks many organ systems, and in some cases causes severe damage.
“We thought this was just a respiratory virus. It turned out that the virus also attacks the pancreas, heart, liver, brain, kidneys and other organs. We didn’t see that at first,” Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, United States.
In addition to respiratory disorders, patients infected with Covid-19 can also experience blood clotting disorders that can cause strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks various organ systems. This virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headaches, dizziness and loss of taste, convulsions and confusion.
Recovery is slow and expensive which has a major impact on quality of life. The broad and varied manifestations of Covid-19 are rather unique, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, as reported by Asia One on Sunday (6/28/2020).
Khan said, people with underlying heart disease are also at higher risk of complications. surprising about this virus is the level of complications that occur outside the lungs.
Khan believes there will be large expenses for health care and burdens for individuals who survived Covid-19. Patients who are in intensive care units or on ventilators for weeks need to spend a long time in the rehabilitation room to regain mobility and strength.
“It can take up to seven days for each day you are hospitalized to recover such strength. It’s more difficult if you get older and you might never return to the same level of function,” Khan said.
A recent study was conducted to understand the long-term effects of Covid-19 infection. Said Jay Butler, deputy director of infectious diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters.
“We hear reports about people who are constantly exhausted, short of breath. How long it will last is hard to say,” Butler said.
Meanwhile Dr Helen Salisbury of the University of Oxford wrote in the British Medical Journal that the symptoms of Covid-19 usually heal in two or three weeks. An estimated 1 in 10 patients experience prolonged symptoms.
Salisbury said many of his patients had normal chest x-rays and there were no signs of inflammation, but they still had not returned to normal.
“If you previously ran 5 kilometers three times a week and now feel breathless after one flight of stairs, or if you cough endlessly and are too tired to get back to work, then the fear that you might never regain your health from before is very real ,” he said.
Igor Koralnik, head of neurological infection in Northwestern Medicine, found that about half of Covid-19 patients treated at the hospital had neurological complications, such as dizziness, decreased alertness, difficulty concentrating, odor and taste disturbances, seizures, strokes, and muscle aches.
Koralnik, whose findings were published in the Annals of Neurology, have started an outpatient clinic for Covid-19 patients to study whether these neurological problems are temporary or permanent.
