Pune: City hospitals have been running post-Covid-19 OPDs for over a month and are reporting various health issues among patients.
In addition to the pulmonary issues reported in patients, hospitals are now seeing cardiac and psychiatric issues in those recovered from Covid-19. In some cases, the issues have been reported even two months after discharge from hospitals.
Dr Sanjay Gaikwad, head of the department of pulmonary medicine at BJ medical college, said, “We have seen about 85 Covid-19 recovered patients and the most common complaint is general weakness, breathlessness and cardiac complaint in a few patients. For such patients, we recommend 2D echo and check their heart rate. Another common complaint which we see in patients is fear and anxiety needing psychiatric help. We recommend them dietary supplements, exercises, and supplementary medications if needed.”
Dr Sunil Rao, group medical director of Sahyadri Group of Hospitals said, “We started the OPD about a month ago and we get about three to four patients every week. The most common complaint being breathlessness and weakness, however, their parameters are steady. We are also getting patients complaining of cardiac issues and we must be prepared for that in the future too. We get such complaints more in patients who had moderate symptoms during the infection. It has nothing to do with comorbidity or age. The impact of the virus on the organs is independent of such factors, but depends on the severity of the symptoms. We see some patients complaining of breathlessness even two months after recovery and mostly we recommend breathing exercises but sometimes they may need steroids.”
Dr Parikshit Prayag, Covid-19 consultant at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital said, “The most common complaints we get are breathlessness, bacterial fever or might even need more oxygen when at home. We are also getting patients with cardiac issues, anxiety complaints, and stress post Covid-19. We are also reporting a few patients with pancreatitis in the case when the infection spreads out of the lungs. The peak in Pune was in August and September and it would be still too early to say how long these effects stay in patients.”
{{/usCountry}}Dr Parikshit Prayag, Covid-19 consultant at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital said, “The most common complaints we get are breathlessness, bacterial fever or might even need more oxygen when at home. We are also getting patients with cardiac issues, anxiety complaints, and stress post Covid-19. We are also reporting a few patients with pancreatitis in the case when the infection spreads out of the lungs. The peak in Pune was in August and September and it would be still too early to say how long these effects stay in patients.”
{{/usCountry}}According to Noble hospital executive director Dr HK Sale, the hospital is seeing more patients complain of higher sugar levels among diabetic recoveries and higher stress levels in those who suffer from hypertension.
“Cardiac complaints are also coming up, but they are fewer in number since we get patients who live nearby the hospital and are regular patients. We are seeing more patients come for non-Covid19 related issues as Covid-19 cases come down,” Sale said.