The study tracked 143 patients, ages 19 to 84, who spent an average of two weeks in a Rome hospital; one fifth of them needed ventilation support. Five weeks after being sent home, more than half of the patients (53 percent) reported fatigue and nearly half (43 percent) were still experiencing shortness of breath. The next two most common symptoms among the patients were joint pain (27 percent) and chest pain (nearly 22 percent), according to the study. Only 13 percent were completely free of COVID symptoms, while 87 percent reported at least one persistent symptom. But researchers aren’t necessarily surprised at the long recovery period. After the 2003 SARS outbreak, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that some survivors interviewed four years after recovery still experienced chronic fatigue.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “The harsh reality is that many patients continue to experience lingering symptoms for weeks and months after being diagnosed with and ‘recovering’ from COVID-19,” Robert Glatter, MD, emergency medicine physician at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, told HealthDay. “While this small [Italian] study found that fatigue and shortness of breath were the two most common symptoms, many people also experience many other lingering symptoms including low-grade fevers, and neurologic symptoms such as numbness and tingling.” RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Some researchers believe that the ongoing health problems may be due to chronic inflammation as the body’s immune system continues to attack the viral infection. Glatter pointed out that people recovering from COVID-19 may also deal with issues of depression and anxiety months after diagnosis, “making the disease not only physically but emotionally disabling,” he said. And to learn about another silent COVID-19 symptom, check out The “Key Symptom” of Coronavirus You’re Probably Ignoring.
