Study warns respiratory complications haunt recovered COVID-19 patients

NEW YORK: The health experts have stated that people who recovered from the COVID-19 disease are being commonly readmitted to the hospital within 14 days of being discharged majorly for respiratory complications.

Researchers found the most common cause for a patient’s early hospital readmission after discharge was for respiratory distress.

These patients were also more likely to have other ailments including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension, said Girish Nadkarni and Anuradha Lala.

“This study shows that many patients have lingering effects from hospitalisation for Covid-19 and thus, there is an opportunity for longitudinal studies that could further assess the long-term effects of COVID-19 on patient outcomes when they are discharged, ” Nadkarni said.

Of the nearly 2, 900 discharged patients, more than 100 returned for emergency care after about 4.5 days and 56 of those returning patients required readmittance into the hospital.

Half of the patients returned for respiratory complications. Compared to patients who did not return, those returning had higher rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension.

Patients who returned also had a shorter length hospital stay during treatment, lower rates of anticoagulation treatment, and were less likely to require intensive care.