According to a survey, almost a third of recovered COVID-19 patients end up back in the hospital within five months, and up to one in eight die of disease complications.
Researchers at Leicester University in the United Kingdom and the Office for National Statistics found that 29.4 percent of 47,780 individuals discharged from the hospital were readmitted within 140 days, the Telegraph published.
According to the study, many people who suffer from long-lasting coronavirus symptoms develop heart attacks, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney diseases.
It seems like people are moving home, having long-term consequences, coming back and dying. We see that almost 30% have been readmitted, and that’s a lot of people here. The figures are so high,’ said study author Kamlesh Khunti.
The message is that we really need to prepare for COVID for a long time. “Following up with these patients is a mammoth task and the NHS is really pushed at the moment, but some kind of monitoring needs to be arranged,” added Khunti, a professor at Leicester University of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine.
The report, which Khunti described as the largest person discharged from a hospital after being admitted with COVID-19, found that survivors were almost 31⁄2 times more likely than other outpatients to be readmitted and die in 140 days.
Khunti said the researchers were shocked that many people with a new diagnosis were readmitted, adding that it was important to ensure that people were put on protective therapies, including statins and aspirin.
We don’t know whether it’s because the beta cells that produce insulin are killed by COVID and you get type 1 diabetes, or whether it induces insulin resistance and you develop type 2 diabetes, but we’re seeing these surprising new cases of diabetes,” he said.”
“We’ve seen studies where survivors have had MRS scans and they’ve cardiac problems and liver problems,” Khunti added. “These people urgently require follow-up and the need to be on things like aspirin and statins.”
The new study was published on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer reviewed.
“We have seen studies in which survivors had MRS scans and had heart problems and problems with their liver,” Khunti said. “These individuals need follow-up urgently and need to be on things like aspirin and statins.”
The new research was published and has not been peer reviewed yet on a pre-print server.