Scientists are now sharing a first look at the data they had collected from adults with long COVID-19 and they found some interesting patterns. Among them, thirst is a common complaint among long haulers.
The national study followed nearly 10,000 patients for six months. It included those who had received a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis within 30 days of entering the study and patients who started the study never having been infected with the virus. The findings were published May 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Some of what they reported the public had heard before, and some was new and somewhat surprising.
The national study followed nearly 10,000 patients for six months. It included those who had received a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis within 30 days of entering the study and patients who started the study never having been infected with the virus. The findings were published May 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Some of what they reported the public had heard before, and some was new and somewhat surprising.
“That’s something that a lot of studies don’t even ask about,” said Dr, Grace McComsey referring to the symptom of thirst.
McComsey, who directs one of the largest participating centers of the national reCOVer trial at University Hospitals in Cleveland, added that in many cases unusual symptoms were dismissed as something else, even by the patients themselves.
“Patients would clinically say, ‘I always feel thirsty,’ and they think they have diabetes but it’s not, it’s part of PASC.”
PASC stands for Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and is the term researchers use for long COVID-19.
One of the things the study was attempting to do, explains McComsey, is to develop a way for doctors to generate a clinical score to identify patients with long COVID-19 based on the number and severity of their symptoms. They asked study participants if they had experienced any of a list of 37 different symptoms, which is much more extensive than the standard 10 or so most trials include.