Category: Clinical Considerations

After Severe COVID, Cognitive Trajectories Go One of Three Ways

MedPageToday Cognitive impairment persisted for 1 year in some patients age 50 and older. Hospital patients discharged after severe SARS-CoV-2 infection followed one of three cognitive trajectories, longitudinal data showed. Of 946 severe COVID patients age 50 and older with no previous dementia or memory complaints, 69.0% had no cognitive impairment 1 month after discharge, […]

Mar 7, 2023

Three in five long COVID patients have organ damage a year after infection

(The Conversation) The latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that more than 1.2 million people in the UK report living with long COVID for 12 months or more. Several studies have confirmed that symptoms can persist in people with long COVID for more than a year after infection. And long COVID can occur regardless of whether or not […]

Feb 21, 2023

Chest CTs Reveal Abnormalities 2 Years After Severe COVID

(MedPageToday) 39% of hospitalized Wuhan patients had persistent interstitial lung abnormalities, study finds Two years after hospitalization for severe COVID-19 illness, more than a third of patients from the pandemic’s early days had lingering pulmonary abnormalities on chest CT scans, according to a prospective study from Wuhan, China. (link to paper) The incidence of persistent […]

Feb 21, 2023

Brain Structure, Widespread Connectivity Changes Seen With Long COVID

(MedPageToday) Gray matter atrophy and severe disruption of brain functional connectivity were seen in long COVID patients with anxiety and depression about 3 months after acute mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Compared with people who were asymptomatic after SARS-CoV-2 infection, long COVID patients with both anxiety and depression showed limbic atrophy and a widespread pattern of hyperconnectivity, […]

Feb 21, 2023

Covid can cause heart problems. Here’s how the virus may do its damage.

(NBC News) Scientists who studied human hearts found that infection appeared to make it harder for them to beat properly. Covid can cause damage to the heart on a cellular level that can lead to lasting problems, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure, preliminary research suggests. Covid’s effects on the heart have been well documented, but a new study zooms […]

Feb 21, 2023

COVID Rebound Can Happen Even without Paxlovid

(Scientific American) Concerns about Paxlovid rebound are preventing some doctors from prescribing the lifesaving drug and some high-risk patients from taking it. Paxlovid gets a bad rap over concerns about COVID “rebound.” That’s the primary takeaway from a series of papers showing that whether or not people take the antiviral medication, many have symptoms that […]

Feb 14, 2023

New study uncovers the 7 most common long COVID symptoms. Not all experts agree

(Today) Despite the plethora of symptoms reported by patients with long COVID, a new study points to just seven that are unique to the illness. However, some long COVID researchers and doctors who’ve treated the disease believe this list is far from comprehensive. The goal of the study was to look for long COVID symptoms […]

Feb 7, 2023

Study unexpectedly finds only 7 health symptoms directly related to ‘long COVID’

(University of Missouri, Columbia) In a new study, a team of University of Missouri researchers made an unexpected discovery: people experiencing long-lasting effects from COVID-19 — known as “long COVID” or post-COVID conditions — are susceptible to developing only seven health symptoms for up to a year following the infection. They are: fast-beating heart, hair […]

Jan 31, 2023

Record number of deaths in US from cardiovascular disease early in pandemic: Report shows

(ABC News) New data from the American Heart Association highlights the major impact COVID-19 had on cardiovascular health and death rates during the first year of the pandemic. At least 928,741 Americans died from cardiovascular disease-related causes in 2020, the annual statistical report revealed. That represents the largest one-year increase since 2015 and tops the previous high of […]

Jan 27, 2023

COVID-19 Patients Retain Elevated Risk of Death for 1.5 Years After Acute Infection

(Contagion) New research definitively linked COVID-19 infection to a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease and death—both short- and long-term. The study, published in Cardiovascular Research, evaluated the association between COVID-19 and development of cardiovascular disease and mortality. “COVID-19 patients were more likely to develop numerous cardiovascular conditions compared to uninfected participants, which may have contributed to their higher risks […]

Jan 24, 2023