A new study found that COVID-19 can cause inflammation of the kidneys, heart, and lungs during and even months after infection.
We've already covered the extent of how COVID-19 and long COVID can affect patients, even those with no preconditions or comorbidities.
Previous studies have also confirmed that upto TWO YEARS after infection, more than 57 percent of patients reported at least one symptom of COVID-19, such as fatigue, exhaustion, or breathlessness.
The study, published in Nature journal, found that one in seven patients who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 died or were rehospitalized, and two out of three patients needed secondary or outpatient care in the months after infection.
"The illness trajectory of COVID-19 includes persisting cardio-renal inflammation, lung involvement, hemostatic pathway activation and impairments in physical and psychological function.....Preventive therapy for post-COVID-19 syndromes and longer-term studies of prognosis are warranted."
The study reconfirmed that symptoms like fatigue, inability to exercise, and breathlessness were commonly reported in COVID patients months after recovery, but added that multi-organ damage was more evident in patients with severe COVID or those who were hospitalized with COVID-19.
1,306 patients infected between 22 May 2020 and 16 March 2021 were closely studied, with a range of blood tests being performed at 28 days and 60 days after infection.
159 of these patients took follow-up tests at 28 days and 60 days after infection. 109 patients, or 69 percent, were administered oxygen, 89 patients, or 56 percent received steroids, 42 were given antiviral drug therapy, 31 received non-invasive respiratory support and 14 received invasive ventilation.
21 patients, or 13 percent of these displayed symptoms that indicated a high likelihood of myocarditis.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart's muscles which can lead to problems like arrythmia, chest pain, shortness of breath, and other complications.
In a statement to The Guardian, Dr. Betty Raman, a cardiologist and long COVID expert at the University of Oxford, stated the study provided valuable information about the prevalence of myocarditis and other long-term effects of COVID-19 on patients.
According to the study's conclusions, 13 percent of patients who suffered severe COVID-19 were 'very likely' to suffer myocarditis, with an additional 41 percent having a 'probable' chance of the same.
While the study failed to perform follow-up tests on the patients after the 60-day period, previous studies have showed the long-term impact of COVID-19 on patients, with over 50 percent reporting at least one symptom two years after infection.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)