US News: Long COVID’s Organ Damage Lingers for Many: Study

New British research finds that long COVID patients, even those who were not hospitalized, continue to experience mild organ impairment up to a year after their initial COVID diagnosis. The study, involving 536 patients, revealed that at an average of six months after their initial COVID diagnosis, 38% of patients had extreme breathlessness, 48% had trouble thinking clearly, and 57% reported poor health-related quality of life. The patients each had a multi-organ MRI body scan at six months, which revealed that 62% had some form of mild organ impairment, variously involving the heart, liver, kidney, and/or spleen. At one year, 30% of patients still had breathing problems, 38% continued to have thinking and memory issues, and 45% reported a diminished quality of life. However, most patients had only mild organ impairment, and data from several countries indicate that some people with long COVID do get better. There is still much to learn about long COVID, and researchers continue to work to understand the biological mechanisms that cause it. On the positive side, the COVID vaccine effectively reduces the risk of developing long COVID in the first place. The full article by HealthDaily can be read here on ABC News. For more information on COVID-19 click here.