As coronary virus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) spreads worldwide, some people who have had the disease are reporting persistent symptoms. Others experience brain symptoms such as brain fog, headaches, and chills.
Most people with infectious respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection will not need hospital treatment. However, some of the recipients experience persistent and persistent symptoms.
Researchers at Northwestern University, USA, analyzed “long hauler” patients whose symptoms lasted at least six weeks. They found persistent brain symptoms, including brain fog and headache.
The study, published in the History of Clinical and Translational Neurology, to characterize neurological spectrum in COVID-19 long-term carriers who were not hospitalized at the time of the disease.
What are long haulers?
Prolonged carriers are those that have passed on COVID-19 but have persistent symptoms. Some report a prolonged cough and difficulty breathing, while others have brain symptoms.
Neurological manifestations were reported in 36.4 to 82.3 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients worldwide. In addition to neurological symptoms, lung, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal dysfunction may follow an infectious disease, making up “long COVID” syndrome. The syndrome is also called “post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)” disease.
Further, more than 80 percent of patients with disease have limited respiratory symptoms and do not have to go to the hospital. Nevertheless, some patients develop persistent and debilitating symptoms.
The study
The study included the first 100 follow-up patients, of whom 50 are SARS-CoV-2 positive, and 50 negative. These patients were admitted to the Neuro-COVID-19 clinic between May and November 2020.
The researchers noted the frequency of neurologic symptoms lasting more than six weeks and analyzed patient-reported quality-of-life measures.
The team found that after the SARS-CoV-2 infection was resolved, 85 percent reported at least four persistent brain cases, which affected their daily lives.
The most common symptom was brain fog, which includes memory problems, lack of mental clarity, and inability to focus. About 81 percent of participants reported persistent issues with memory and thinking, followed by 68 percent reporting headaches. More than half of the respondents reported problems with smell, taste, tingling or numbness, and muscle pain.
Less common symptoms include chills (47%), pain (43%), blurred vision (30%) and tinnitus (29%). The team also revealed that the majority of long – term carriers of the study were women, with an average age of 43.
The study highlights the need for future research, showing that a number of disturbing neurological symptoms may occur and persist after the severe stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in those with mild symptoms that do not require hospitalization.