Post-Covid complications showing its ugly head in Kashmir: DAK
By: Muzamil Bhat CK
Srinagar
In order to cater to the growing number of patients who are complaining of several complications after they have recovered from covid infection, DAK has said that there is a need to set up a lot of post covid clinics in Kashmir to treat such patients.
Amid the dip in the covid positive cases, there is an increasing number of patients coming to the doctors and hospitals who are complaining of post covid complications.
DAK has said that it is an alarming trend and needs to be arrested with treatment and there should be special post covid clinics for the treatment of such patients.
DAK in its statement has said, “We are getting many Covid patients with severe neurological complications weeks after recovery”.
Dr Hassan said recovered Covid patients come with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune disorder of peripheral nervous system in which body’s immune system attacks the healthy nerve cells.
“Patients with GBS manifest with weakness of all four limbs which in some cases progresses to respiratory muscle involvement needing ventilatory support,” he said.
“Some patients lack the most classical manifestation of Covid-19 infection that makes it vital to think of Covid in every GBS patient in the context of current pandemic,” he added.
“We are seeing rise in cases of strokes in patients who have recovered from Covid-19,” Dr Hassan said.
He said in the second wave younger people are particularly affected and we are seeing a delayed presentation of stroke, weeks to months after the patient has recovered.
Covid-19 increases the risk of blood clot forming which causes block in the vessel to the brain that leads to stroke.
The DAK President said patients who have recovered from Covid-19 return to hospitals with cardiac complications like myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle) and even heart attacks.
“Cardiac complications are seen even in those who have no underlying heart disease and had experienced mild Covid-19 illness,” he said.
“Another serious post-Covid complication that patients are coming with is lung fibrosis, a permanent scarring of the lung. These patients get readmitted with worsening hypoxemia and need long term oxygen therapy,” Dr Nisar said.
He said the number of patients with post-Covid issues could be higher as many with post-Covid symptoms like fatigue, lethargy, headache, body ache and joint pain are not reporting to hospitals.
“With many Covid-19 patients having multiple health issues after recovery, there is a dire need to set up post-Covid clinics at tertiary care hospitals to understand and look at management strategies of post-Covid sequelae,” he added.
