Shaarei Tzedek Pulmonary Institute: 50% Of Former COVID-19 Patients Still Feeling Symptoms After Recovery

JERUSALEM (VINnews) —  A new study by Shaarei Tzedek hospital’s Pulmonary Institute has revealed that 50% of coronavirus patients who have already recovered from the virus (i.e. it is not in their blood) continue to feel general weakness and breathing difficulties weeks and even months after they recovered. The study demonstrates that most of those who recovered have not returned to their functional abilities from before the disease.

The study investigated tens of patients who contracted COVID-19 with various levels of severity . According to the study about 50% of those who have recovered are still suffering from the effects of the virus irrespective of the level of severity they experienced when they were sick with the virus. Even those who were deemed light cases developed in some cases long-term lung problems while those who were in difficult condition did not necessarily report difficulties or feeling weak.

In the coming weeks hundreds of other people who recovered will undergo testing and all of the patients will be retested half a year after the initial tests in order to understand the long-term effects of the virus.

Professor Gavriel Izbitzky, the director of the pulmonary institute at Shaarei Tzedek, told the Kipa site that “Among the symptoms reported we found a general weakness in most of the participants, complaints of coughing and shortness of breath, fibrosis symptoms, COPD and pulmonary hypertension. We are performing these comprehensive tests in order to prevent a deterioration in the symptoms and to treat them early.”

“We are calling on all of the coronavirus patients who were hospitalized in various hospitals around Israel or who were confined to hotels to participate in our follow-up study. The study is for patients from 3 to 6 months after their release from hospital. It is preferable to come as early as possible so that we can monitor and locate quickly any lingering lung conditions.”