Doctor Radboudumc: lungs usually recover well after Covid-19 | Inland

At the multidisciplinary aftercare clinic of the Radboud university medical center, specially designed for corona, the first Dutch scientific research was conducted into how people are doing who got Covid-19 during the first corona wave.

Better recovery from hospital

Results presented Wednesday show that overall recovery after Covid-19 is better in patients who have been hospitalized than those who have experienced the disease at home. Almost all patients have complaints such as fatigue, shortness of breath and reduced quality of life. But patients who were not admitted feel worse.

According to lead researcher Van den Borst, this makes sense: “Although this group had a relatively mild form of the disease, it has persistent complaints. Because they have these complaints, their doctor sends them to the aftercare clinic. So they end up there because things are not going well. However, we hardly find any abnormalities in the lungs in this group. More research is urgently needed into the complaints and treatment of this considerable group of people. ”

Patients who were nursed in hospital or who ended up in intensive care automatically receive an invitation to the aftercare clinic. According to Van den Borst, the residual damage in the lung tissue is greatest after three months among patients who were on the IC. However, because most hospital patients also receive help from physiotherapists and specialized nurses immediately after admission, they generally feel better after three months.

CT scan and lung function test

Radboudumc examined 124 patients with, among other things, a CT scan and a lung function test. At the aftercare clinic, patients with persistent complaints receive a treatment plan. The hospital will continue to monitor the studied group in the coming years.

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