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Novel coronavirus may lead to reduced lung function - research

Other News Materials 31 March 2020 13:42 (UTC +04:00)
These are the findings of doctors who seen around a dozen discharged patients in follow-up appointments, the information said.
Novel coronavirus may lead to reduced lung function - research

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 31

Trend:

Two to three of patients recovered from coronavirus unable to do things as they had in the past, Dr. Owen Tsang Tak-yin, medical director of the authority’s Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung said, Trend reports with reference to South China Morning Post.

These are the findings of doctors who seen around a dozen discharged patients in follow-up appointments, the information said.

The report said that some patients who recovered from COVID-19 have suffered reduced lung function and now experience problems such as gasping for air when walking quickly.

“They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly. Some patients might have around a drop of 20 to 30 percent in lung function after recovery,” Tsang said.

Tsang also said that these patients would undergo tests to determine how much lung function they still had and physiotherapy would also be arranged to strengthen their lungs.

A review of lung scans of nine infected patients at Princess Margaret found patterns suggesting there was organ damage. But Tsang said the long-term effect on recovered patients, such as whether they would develop pulmonary fibrosis, a condition where lung tissue hardened and the organ could not function properly, had yet to be ascertained.

He noted that discharged patients could do cardiovascular exercise such as swimming to help the lungs recover gradually.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. The number of people killed by the disease has surpassed 37,000. Over 788,000 people have been confirmed as infected. Meanwhile, over 166,000 people have reportedly recovered.

Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

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