Coronavirus continues to dominate the US, where COVID -19 crisis has reached catastrophic levels, and 49 states simultaneously classified as hot spots. Researchers released a new study which revealed that recovering patients of SARS-CoV-2 infection struggle to return to normal, months after hospital discharge.
A team of scientists in the US looked at the 488 COVID-19 patients treated and then released from hospitals. After conducting a survey on these people between March 16 and July 1, they found that returning to normal life becomes a struggle for Coronavirus survivors as they are likely to face health and financial hardships even months later.
The team of researchers led by Dr. Vineet Chopra of the University of Michigan Health System noticed that a third of the COVID-19 survivors reported ongoing health issues, such as cough, new or worsening conditions, and persistent loss of smell or taste.
'Emotionally and Financially Affected'
As per the findings, which were reported this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, almost half of the COVID-19 patients said that they were "emotionally affected" by the disease, while 28 people sought mental health care after discharge.
Among all those 488 Coronavirus infected patients, 36 percent reported "at least a mild financial impact" because of their hospitalization. Of those people, employed before contracting the virus, 40 percent said that they either lost their job or were too sick to return to work. Over a quarter of those recovered patients, who resumes work, reported reduced hours or modified responsibilities.
The research team said, "For most patients who survived, ongoing morbidity, including the inability to return to normal activities, physical and emotional symptoms, and financial loss, was common." The study concluded that as per the accumulated data it became confirmed that "the toll of COVID-19 extends well beyond hospitalization".
However, this research had limitations, as the team surveyed only 488 people out of more than 1,600 COVID-19 patients whose records were originally tracked. The study noted that "of 1648 patients with COVID-19 admitted to 38 hospitals, 398 died during hospitalization and 1250 survived. Of 1250 patients discharged alive, 975 went home whereas 158 were discharged to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility."
