Results of a preliminary study indicated that the symptoms of mild COVID -19 can last for weeks, in patients who do not need hospital treatment.
During the study that included a group of 272 COVID-19 patients, 41% of those who suffered from coughing continued 3 weeks after their symptoms started, 24% had shortness of breath, 23% could not smell or taste, and suffered a proportion Another 23% of sinus congestion and a fifth suffer from headaches, for several weeks after symptoms appear.
Simple symptoms–
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The authors of the paper wrote, according to a report by the American newspaper “Newsweek”: “Severe 19 COVID symptoms often last longer than the minimum isolation period and patients and health care providers must realize that symptom resolution may be gradual.”
Participants were diagnosed with coronavirus using nasal swabs, and were treated at the COVID-19 virtual clinic for the Outpatient Department in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, which examines patients at home until their symptoms improve, and patients report to the clinic their condition Within 10 days of starting symptoms, and within 5 days of performing a coronavirus test.
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Researchers studied data on patients who followed health care professionals for an average of 20 days, to ask whether they had certain symptoms or not, as calls were made every 12 to 48 hours depending on the severity of the patients’ symptoms.
The most common symptoms were coughing, headache, loss of smell or taste, sinus congestion and body pain, and fewer patients had symptoms in the digestive system, but they could also last for a relatively long period, with 10% suffering from diarrhea during the three weeks that were followed up .
“It highlights the persistence of symptoms that may interfere with normal activity, such as shortness of breath and effort,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
The results were published in prepress on the -print medRxiv website, meaning that it was not through the rigorous peer review process required for publication in scientific journals, but publishing studies in this way enables scientists to spark discussion about a topic and is especially useful in a quick time Movement is like an epidemic.
The opinions of experts who did not participate in the study
Experts who did not work on the paper said the study was interesting because it highlights how long symptoms last.-
Dr. Joshua Baroccas, associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, told Newsweek by email: “From this study, we can see that symptoms that may be worrying can last for at least 3 weeks, and possibly longer.” This helps clinicians determine expectations with patients. “
While Stephen Durham, professor of allergy and respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, Newsweek, said there is confirmation that coughing, headache and odor loss are common in patients with COVID-19, that coronavirus includes many body systems, and the paper draws attention to sinus congestion Nasal As a potential symptom, it has not been widely reported.
Durham said the study also suggests that odor loss is one of the distinguishing factors for distinguishing between COVID-19, for example from other conditions such as influenza.
But the study also did not say in answering whether people with symptoms can continue to carry the virus as patients have not been repeatedly tested with swabs.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 7.3 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the epidemic began late last year.
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