Long Covid: Experts talk about technological interventions to diagnose post-recovery complications

The risk of major health problems arising in patients who have 'successfully' recovered from Covid-19 and Omicron is making India’s pulmonologists worried about trivialising any post-recovery symptoms as ‘Long Covid’. Here's what experts have to say

The risk of major health problems arising in patients who have 'successfully' recovered from Covid-19 and Omicron is making India’s pulmonologists worried about trivialising any post-recovery symptoms as ‘Long Covid’.

Long Covid: Experts talk about technological interventions to diagnose post-recovery complications (Gustavo Fring)

“Every day, 50% of our OPD deals with post-recovery complications - such as tuberculosis and fungal infections - from patients who have apparently recovered well,” says Dr Deepak Talwar,  Senior Consultant and Chairman, Metro Respiratory Center of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Metro Hospital, Noida. 

He further, adds, “Of these, 20% are really tough to manage because the patients assume these are symptoms of extended Covid and ignored it.”

Long Covid is a condition where people who have recovered from the disease experience temporary health issues - such as shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction and brain fog. The World Health Organization(WHO) describes Long Covid time frame as anywhere between three to nine months. It is generally assumed that the symptoms will disappear automatically, without any medical intervention.

According to Dr Talwar(who has been a pulmonologist for over 30 years),this approach, however, is far from ideal and can sometimes prove fatal for patients. “Almost 30% of such (Long Covid) cases can get serious/fatal, if ignored,” he says.

A study published in the journal of Lung India, last year, warns of a parallel epidemic of post-Covid syndrome or Long Covid emerging in the country. As per the report, around 88% of Covid-19 survivors in the country may have this syndrome. India, incidentally, has a recovery rate of over 90% with 4.2 crore out of the 4.3 crore pandemic cases reported.

Dr Talwar also states that people who recover from omicron, a less severe strain than the previous Covid-19 variants, can experience immunity loss, making recovered patients vulnerable to future diseases, more than ever. Hence, it’s important that people reach out to doctors and get a medical checkup done, instead of waiting for the symptoms to disappear on its own.

A Multisystem Disorder

What makes Covid-19 and its variants so difficult to manage is the complex nature of the disease. It attacks the body in different ways, ranging from mild to life-threatening. A Covid-19 patient not only develops lung disease, but also a slew of other allied health ailments such as improper blood coagulation, heart, brain or muscle difficulties, or diseases that impact the gastrointestinal tract, ranging from vomiting to diarrhoea.

“In a Covid-19 patient, all these co-morbidities act together, unlike a patient with any other respiratory illness. The disease also progresses rapidly, going into situations where you cannot maintain patients without ventilator,” said Dr Talwar, adding, “A patient who has recovered from covid will have more residual damage in the lungs by the end of two years, than someone who has recovered from a viral pneumonia.”

Expanding Medical Technology

According to S Ganesh Prasad, Founder, MD, and CEO of Genworks Health, in March 2020, soon after the WHO declared Covid-19, a pandemic, the American Thorasic Society and the European Respiratory Society issued an advisory, asking doctors to limit lung function tests—the crux of pulmonary diagnostics— in patients, as they could lead to spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus. The use of CT scans too was limited only to diagnosing Covid-19 patients. The restrictions led to the growth and use of two new technologies –Impulse Oscillometry and Spirometry – among doctors, paramedical staff and patients. 

The technologies are used to measure lung function and ascertain if there is any blockage to airflow in the lungs. They are gaining popularity for the fact that they can be used on patients without the risk of spreading Covid-19. 

“With the use of these technologies, the testing time has also reduced to five minutes compared to conventional lung function tests, which used to take almost 30 minutes, says Talwar.