About three million patients worldwide have recovered from COVID-19 . It is an encouraging and optimistic figure, but where there was fire… ashes remain. And it is that the coronavirus has raised another concern: the damage that it can leave in the body once the disease is overcome.
In our country, one of the most recent cases is that of Javier Ortega Smith, secretary general of Vox. After passing the disease, he had to be admitted to a hospital urgently for several thrombi in his leg and lungs. According to himself, the trigger was the swelling that occurred in his left calf. And this is just one of the serious effects that COVID-19 can cause
Fernando Simón, director of the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, assured last May that, according to the research carried out so far, “the potential sequelae are associated with the severity of the disease conditions that people have suffered and the kind of picture they have had ”. In addition, as is already known, age is an added factor, so that the elderly are more vulnerable .
There are still few studies on the possible consequences both at a national level –in Spain there is at least one being carried out by the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona– and at a global level. Dr. Simón warned that in order to have accurate and contrasted information, it will be necessary to wait, since the data must be “evaluated in the short, medium and long term” and, therefore, with an evolution of “two or more months” .
Since the virus mainly attacks the lungs , people who have had severe pneumonia are more susceptible to respiratory consequences. According to Dr. Simón, there may be “some residual fibrosis that makes a small or great restriction of respiratory capacity” in the medium or long term. In fact, the South China Morning Post newspaper has published that, after evaluating several recovered patients in a Hong Kong hospital, specialists observed that they had reduced lung function . “Now they experience [respiratory] problems, such as shortness of breath when they walk fast,” the information detailed.
But not only disorders have been detected in that vital organ. In patients who were admitted to the ICU and with renal insufficiencies so significant that it was necessary to resort to dialysis, a certain degree of residual insufficiency may remain in them capable of generating health problems. In addition, in some extreme case it could even lead to permanent failure requiring dialysis for life.
Other studies point to neurological sequelae. They can be associated with “character modifications ,” explained Dr. Simón, or with typical pictures of paresthesia, that is, an abnormal sensation in the skin of tingling, heat or cold related to diseases of the nervous or circulatory system . Finally, COVID-19 can cause “heart failure or acute myocardial damage” , as the Ministry of Health collects. However, as Dr. Simón has also emphasized, these effects are rare.
Brain
The inflammatory reaction could accelerate cognitive decline in older people.
Heart
Although not common, arrhythmias, inflammation of the heart muscle, and acute heart muscle failure have been detected.
Lungs
There are quite a few cases of pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory problems.
Kidneys
Some patients suffer from acute kidney failure , perhaps due to medication.
Circulatory system
Coagulation in the blood is disturbed and thrombosis occurs.
By Monica Gail.
