Lingering COVID-19 symptoms could be a major problem for patients in the near future, according to David Putrino, the director of rehabilitation innovation at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
What’s going on?
Putrino recently told CNBC that COVID-19 long-haulers may face lingering symptoms that will change their lives long term for the worse. More research, he said, needs to be done.
- “We really just need to focus on helping these patients and spreading awareness that this is, indeed, a really serious problem associated with COVID-19.”
Putrino told CNBC that long-haulers have changed how doctors treat patients. Any simple symptom could be linked to the virus, he said.
- “One of the things that physicians have to do now, as we’re seeing this increase in COVID long-hauler activity, is listen to what patients are telling them.”
Bigger picture
Putrino’s comments come as a new study from Northwestern University found about 85% of those with long-COVID-19 face long-term symptoms, including neurologic symptoms.
- Popular symptoms among long-haulers in the study include brain fog, headaches, numbness or tingling, loss of taste and smell, muscle aches and fatigue.
Per CNN, the study evaluated 100 patients who were not hospitalized for their COVID-19 symptoms from 21 different states.
The study suggested there might be more neurological symptoms for long-haulers than we realize for COVID-19 patients.