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Content ArticleThe impact of Long Covid needs urgent action – and there are five key elements to drive the effort forward, writes the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in this article for the Guardian.
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News ArticleLong Covid clinics across Australia are being inundated with requests for assessments from patients struggling with ongoing symptoms, an inquiry has heard. Doctors told the federal parliamentary inquiry into long and repeated coronavirus infections that they were struggling to keep up with demand as waitlists increased. At least 10 million Australians have been infected with Covid and it is estimated 3-5% will develop Long Covid at some point. “Our waitlist is increasing because what we’ve observed is that it can take some time for the recognition of post-Covid conditions, particularly with the fatigue-predominant types, to reach us,” Royal Children’s hospital Associate Prof Shidan Tosif told the inquiry on Wednesday. Patients are usually referred to specialist clinics through a GP and while there is no official cure, symptoms can sometimes be treated on a case-by-case basis. The inquiry by the House of Representatives health committee is investigating the economic, social, educational and health impacts of long Covid and repeat infections. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2022
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Content ArticleThe Stroke Association's Saving Brains campaign aims to raise awareness of thrombectomy, a game-changing surgical treatment for stroke that many patients in the UK are currently missing out on. Thrombectomy can prevent further damage occurring to the brain in people having a stroke. It is a time-critical treatment and there is variation in access to the procedure across the country, In this video, stroke patients Karen and Phil talk about their experiences of treatment. Karen was able to have a timely thrombectomy and regained full mobility immediately following the procedure. Phil wasn't able to access thrombectomy due to the service not being available in his area at weekends; as a result, his recovery has been slower and more difficult.
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News Article
WHO chief urges immediate action to tackle ‘devastating’ Long Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Long Covid is “devastating” the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of people, and wreaking havoc on health systems and economies, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned as he urged countries to launch “immediate” and “sustained” efforts to tackle the “very serious” crisis. The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is also “very clear” that many of those infected by the virus, which first emerged in China in late 2019, are still experiencing “prolonged suffering”, the WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said. With the absence of evidence about how best to treat it, Long Covid is turning people’s lives upside down, and many face “often lengthy” and “frustrating” waits for support or guidance, Tedros said. The large numbers of those cruelly affected by the long tail of Covid is also having a dangerous impact on health systems and economies still reeling from waves of infections. “While the pandemic has changed dramatically due to the introduction of many lifesaving tools, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, the impact of long Covid for all countries is very serious and needs immediate and sustained action equivalent to its scale,” Tedros said, writing for the Guardian. Countries must now “seriously ramp up” both research into the condition and access to care for those affected if they are to “minimise the suffering” of their populations and protect their health systems and workforces. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2022 -
Content ArticleWorld Physiotherapy is the international voice for physiotherapy, representing more than 685,000 physiotherapists worldwide, through 125 member organisations. Recognising the lack of good quality evidence relating to Long Covid and physical activity, this briefing paper aims to support healthcare professionals to provide safe and effective Long Covid rehabilitation practice, research and policy. It recommends screening for post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PACS), cardiac impairment, exertional oxygen desaturation and autonomic dysfunction before exercise is recommended to people with symptoms of Long Covid.
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News Article
More than 1m people report Long Covid in UK a year after infection
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than 1 million people in the UK have long Covid at least one year after they were first infected, new figures reveal. The data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday, comes as other figures suggest the number of Covid patients admitted to hospital in England is continuing to rise amid a new wave of the virus. As of 3 September, an estimated 2.3 million people living in private households in the UK – 3.5% of the population – had Long Covid, equivalent to one in every 28 people. Ondine Sherwood, a co-founder of the advocacy group and charity Long Covid SOS, says the number of people now reporting long Covid – 342,000 of whose lives are “severely impacted” as result – illustrates that this is “not just a personal tragedy but a societal, health and workforce problem”. Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London and expert on long Covid, described the situation as deeply disappointing, noting that while the number of people with long Covid appeared to dip over the summer, it is now clear there is a definite, ongoing, upwards trend. “This reinforces the message that it’s really foolhardy to imagine we can laugh off a massive, growing BA.5 wave as ‘living with the virus’ and ‘no worse than flu’,” he said. “Long Covid and even long Covid from the 2022 Omicron waves continues to wreck lives in people of all ages. I do wish we could just remind everyone to take this seriously – get boosted, keep indoor meetings well ventilated, wear masks indoors and for travel.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 October 2022 -
Content ArticleThe Office for National Statistics reports that 98,000 children are now living with the symptoms of Long Covid in the UK. To support these children and young people at school and college, Long Covid Kids has collaborated with education resource website Twinkl to produce a series of resources for teachers and teaching staff about Long Covid. Although the resources are free to download, you will need to sign up for a Twinkl account to access them.
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Content ArticleThis framework from NHS England supports nurses, midwives and care staff in ensuring care remains at a high standard, as well as demonstrating the contribution to the Long Covid response. It aims to give the opportunity to embrace collective leadership in supporting people and communities served and showcase good practice as it emerges across England.
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Content ArticleThis practice pointer in The BMJ provides an update on treating Long Covid in primary care and outlines how healthcare professionals might respond to questions that patients ask about the condition. The article provides information on: Definition of Long Covid Epidemiology Symptoms and case definition Questions patients ask Further resources for patients and healthcare professionals
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Content ArticleLong Covid is politically problematic, medically uncertain, and personally scary. It is too easy to look away. In media narratives this summer the Covid-19 pandemic was eclipsed by the cost of living and climate crises. But in practice these crises co-exist and interact. Long Covid makes heatwaves and price hikes a whole lot harder to bear. Jo Maybin was healthy, triple vaxed, and had been down with Long Covid since February 2022. In this blog for The King's Fund, Jo describes how she feels and asks you not to look away from Long Covid, this ‘mass disabling event’, which is affecting 2 million people in the UK, and will likely have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands more this winter.
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Content ArticleOnly 1 in 3 people were fully recovered from COVID-19 a year after they left hospital. Being female, having obesity or being on a ventilator were each linked with ongoing symptoms, months after people were discharged (Long-COVID). Nearly 1 million people in the UK have so far been admitted to hospital because of COVID-19. The long-term effects of the infection in this group are only just coming to light. Researchers explored the impact of being hospitalised for COVID-19 on people’s mental and physical health, and on their employment. They looked at characteristics such as age and sex to see which were associated with worse recovery. They also assessed whether inflammation in the blood may be a potential target for treatment. This study described, for the first time, four different patterns of COVID-19 recovery. It found, for example, that some people with long-COVID had higher levels of inflammation. The researchers say that targeting treatment to specific clinical problems, such as treating inflammation in people with higher levels of inflammation, are promising approaches to aid recovery.
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Content ArticleOn 25 March 2020, Hannah Davis was texting with two friends when she realized that she couldn’t understand one of their messages. In hindsight, that was the first sign that she had COVID-19. It was also her first experience with the phenomenon known as “brain fog,” and the moment when her old life contracted into her current one. She once worked in artificial intelligence and analysed complex systems without hesitation, but now “runs into a mental wall” when faced with tasks as simple as filling out forms. Her memory, once vivid, feels frayed and fleeting. Former mundanities—buying food, making meals, cleaning up—can be agonisingly difficult. For more than 900 days, while other long-COVID symptoms have waxed and waned, her brain fog has never really lifted.
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Content ArticleThis guideline developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is intended for healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19. It is not meant to replace clinical judgment or specialist consultation, but rather to strengthen frontline clinical management and the public health response. Considerations for special and vulnerable populations, such as paediatric patients, older people and pregnant women, are highlighted throughout the text. This guideline is a product of the contributions of several WHO team members and independent experts from all over the world.
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News Article
Covid-19: Commission describes “massive global failures” of pandemic response
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The global response to the first two years of the Covid-19 outbreak failed to control a pandemic that has led to an estimated 17.7 million deaths to date, a major review has concluded. The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the Covid-19 pandemic, produced by 28 world leading experts and 100 contributors, cites widespread failures regarding prevention, transparency, rationality, standard public health practice, operational coordination, and global solidarity. It concludes that multilateral cooperation must improve to end the pandemic and manage future global health threats effectively. The commission’s chair, Jeffrey Sachs, who is a professor at Columbia University and president of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, said, “The staggering human toll of the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic is a profound tragedy and a massive societal failure at multiple levels.”In its report, which used data from the first two years of the pandemic and new epidemiological and financial analyses, the commission concludes that government responses lacked preparedness, were too slow, paid too little attention to vulnerable groups, and were hampered by misinformation.Read full story Source: BMJ, 14 September 2022 -
Content ArticleAs of May 31, 2022, there were 6·9 million reported deaths and 17.2 million estimated deaths from COVID-19, as reported by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The Lancet COVID-19 Commission was established in July 2020, with four main themes: developing recommendations on how to best suppress the epidemic; addressing the humanitarian crises arising from the pandemic; addressing the financial and economic crises resulting from the pandemic; and rebuilding an inclusive, fair, and sustainable world. It has now published it's key findings and recommendations.
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Content ArticleThere are rising reports of profound cognitive impairment on par with clinical dementia as a result of Long Covid. By researchers’ best estimates, more than 1 in 8 people with Covid-19 will have some array of the 200 odd symptoms reported in this disease for months to years. Long Covid is quickly emerging as the next public health challenge. What are these land mines left behind by the SARS-CoV-2 virus? Are you at risk for them to explode even if you never get very sick from Covid? A study released earlier this month suggests that people suffering from long COVID end up with reservoirs of active SARS-CoV-2 virus — documented in our lungs, brain, and GI tract — which produce ongoing levels of viral spike protein in the blood. A year after becoming infected, patients’ levels can sometimes remain as high as were found during early infection.
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News Article
430,000 Britons have long Covid two years after infection, says ONS
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An estimated 430,000 Britons were still suffering from Long Covid two years after first contracting the virus, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). One in every 32 people in the UK was estimated to have some form of Long Covid at the end of July, equivalent to 2 million people. Of those, around 1.5 million said their symptoms were adversely affecting their daily activities, while 384,000 said their ability to undertake daily activities had been “limited a lot”. Fatigue continues to be the most common symptom reported by individuals with long Covid, with 62% reporting weakness or tiredness. More than a third, 37%, of those surveyed reported shortness of breath as one of their symptoms, while difficulty concentrating (33%) and muscle ache (31%) were the next most cited symptoms. Kelly Fearnley, a foundation doctor at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: “Long Covid is not only crippling the health of the nation, it is destroying the health of our economy. “Research efforts so far have been slow and underfunded, and fail to reflect the scale and urgency of the problem. “Not only are some people not recovering, they are deteriorating. People have not only lost their health and independence, they are losing their jobs, financial security and homes.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 September 2022 -
News Article
Covid: Brain fog more common two years on, study suggests
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Two years after having Covid-19, diagnoses of brain fog, dementia and epilepsy are more common than after other respiratory infections, a study by the University of Oxford suggests. But anxiety and depression are no more likely in adults or children two years on, the research found. More research is needed to understand how and why Covid could lead to other conditions. This study looked at the risks of 14 different disorders in 1.25 million patients two years on from Covid, mostly in the US. It then compared them with a closely-matched group of 1.25 million people who had a different respiratory infection. In the group who had Covid, after two years, there were more new cases of: dementia, stroke and brain fog in adults aged over 65 brain fog in adults aged 18-64 epilepsy and psychotic disorders in children, although the overall risks were small. Some disorders became less common two years after Covid, including: anxiety and depression in children and adults psychotic disorders in adults. The increased risk of depression and anxiety in adults lasts less than two months before returning to normal levels, the research found. Read full story Source BBC News, 18 August 2022 -
Content ArticleCOVID-19 is associated with increased risks of neurological and psychiatric sequelae in the weeks and months thereafter. How long these risks remain, whether they affect children and adults similarly, and whether SARS-CoV-2 variants differ in their risk profiles remains unclear. This study from Taquet et al. looked at the risks of 14 different disorders in 1.25 million patients two years on from Covid, mostly in the US. It then compared them with a closely-matched group of 1.25 million people who had a different respiratory infection. In the group who had Covid, after two years, there were more new cases of dementia, stroke and brain fog in adults aged over 65; brain fog in adults aged 18-64; and epilepsy and psychotic disorders in children, although the overall risks were small. Some disorders became less common two years after Covid, including anxiety and depression in children and adults and psychotic disorders in adults. The increased risk of depression and anxiety in adults lasts less than two months before returning to normal levels, the research found.
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News Article
Economically inactive Britons with Long Covid have ‘doubled’ in a year
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
One in twenty people in the UK who are neither employed nor seeking paid work are suffering from Long Covid, with the figure more than doubling in the past year, official data has revealed. The proportion is far higher than for the 1 in 29 people who are unemployed but seeking work who have long Covid symptoms, or the one in 30 employed people who are sufferers, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows. Individuals who are not employed and are not looking for paid work are classified as being economically inactive. The data suggests the long-term impacts of the virus could be driving people into this category, or into retirement. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 August 2022 -
News Article
Covid-19: One in eight adults develops long covid symptoms, study suggests
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
One in eight Covid-19 patients (12.7%) is likely to experience long term symptoms, a study from the Netherlands has reported. Using digital questionnaires, researchers collected data on the frequency of 23 symptoms commonly associated with Covid in an uninfected population and in people who had had a Covid diagnosis. The findings, published in the Lancet, found that 21.4% of adults who had had Covid experienced at least one new or severely increased symptom three to five months after infection when compared with before. This compared with only 8.7% of uninfected people followed over the same period. The core Long Covid symptoms highlighted by the researchers include chest pain, difficulties breathing, pain when breathing, painful muscles, loss of taste and smell, tingling extremities, lump in throat, feeling hot and cold, heavy arms or legs, and general tiredness. Read full story Source: BMJ, 4 August 2022 -
Content ArticlePatients often report various symptoms after recovery from acute COVID-19. Ballering et al. aimed to analyse the nature, prevalence, and severity of long-term symptoms related to COVID-19, while correcting for symptoms present before SARS-CoV-2 infection and controlling for the symptom dynamics in the population without infection. They found persistent symptoms in COVID-19-positive participants at 90–150 days after COVID-19 compared with before COVID-19 and compared with matched controls included chest pain, difficulties with breathing, pain when breathing, painful muscles, ageusia or anosmia, tingling extremities, lump in throat, feeling hot and cold alternately, heavy arms or legs, and general tiredness.
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EventThe COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted nearly all countries’ health systems and diminished their capability to provide safe health care, specifically due to errors, harm and delays in diagnosis, treatment and care management. “Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for patient safety: a rapid review” emphasises the high risk of avoidable harm to patients, health workers, and the general public, and exposes a range of safety gaps across all core components of health systems at all levels. The disruptive and transformative impacts of the pandemic have confirmed patient safety as a critical health system issue and a global public health concern. The objectives of the WHO event are : provide an overview of implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for patients, health workers, and the general public highlight importance of managing risks and addressing avoidable harm in a pandemic situation discuss implications of the pandemic for patient safety within broader context of preparedness, response and recovery lay the foundation for follow-up work around generating more robust evidence and supporting countries in their efforts to build resilient and safer health care systems. Register
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Content ArticleThis article in the Nursing Times Long Covid series discusses how nurses are at high occupational risk of Long Covid and how best to support them.
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News ArticlePatients who contract Covid-19 are at increased risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disorders and diabetes in the three months following infection, although the risk then declines back to baseline levels, a large UK study has found. Researchers from King’s College London say patients recovering from Covid-19 should be advised to consider measures to reduce diabetes risk including adopting a healthy diet and taking exercise. The GP medical records from more than 428,650 Covid-19 patients were matched with the same number of controls and followed up to January 2022. All patients with pre-existing diabetes or cardiovascular disease were excluded from the study, published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine. According to the analysis, diabetes mellitus diagnoses were increased by 81% in acute covid-19 and remained elevated by 27% from 4 to 12 weeks after infection. Lead study author Emma Rezel-Potts said, “While it is in the first four weeks that covid-19 patients are most at risk of these outcomes, the risk of diabetes mellitus remains increased for at least 12 weeks. Clinical and public health interventions focusing on reducing diabetes risk among those recovering from covid-19 over the longer term may be beneficial.” The researchers said that people without pre-existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes who become infected with covid-19 do not appear to have a long term increase in incidence of these conditions. Read full story Source: BMJ, 22 July 2022
