Clinics see high influx of patients with advanced post-COVID issues

“A  majority  of  them  have  breathing  issues, fatigue, increased blood sugar levels, sporadic vascular issues, clots in  the  limbs  and  other  parts  of  the  body.  More  people  are  reporting  vascular  and  breathing  issues.

These  issues are more common in people with comorbidities   and   immunocompromised  conditions  as  they  tend  to  see  complications  in  respective  ailments  post  COVID  recovery,”  said  Dr  Dhavapalani, emergency head,  Apollo    Hospitals.Most of the patients report  at  post-COVID  centres at a later stage of  complications  post  recovery.

This  is  because the  caseload was higher in the second wave.  “Patients with  comorbidities  need to monitor their blood sugar levels and should do a follow up after 28 days. While psychological issues such as insomnia, fear of death and depression  were  common  in  patients  affected  during  the  first  wave,  the  second  wave  is  seeing  more  number of vascular problems  causing  clots in limbs, myocardial   infarction, brain fog and other is-sues  in  the  arteries,”  said  Dr  E  Theranira-jan,    dean  of  Rajiv Gandhi Government  General Hospital (RG-GGH).

Despite COVID-19 follow up clinics in  all  the  government  hospitals,  the  patients  often  come  with  advanced  complications  and  there  is  always  a  higher risk of losing an organ or limb due to vascular issues, say doctors.“The  cardiac  issues  post  COVID  recovery are also common and individuals   who   are   awaiting   cardiac   procedures  should  mainly  be  careful.  It  is  important  to  have  a  complete  check-up  and  follow  up  of  cardiac  issues.

The  complications  are  likely  to  develop  in  the  body  over  time after recovery. The blockage of the  arteries  causing  vascular  problems  need  to  be  addressed  immediately  to  avoid  death  post  recovery  from COVID-19,” said Dr Arun Kalyanasundaram, chief cardiologist at Promed Hospital.