Why are Covid-recovered heading back to hospitals?

For patients ‘cured’ of Covid-19, many of whom have battled long stretches in ICUs and on ventilators to make it home, the actual toll of the disease is only now becoming clearer. It’s the same trend across hospitals — a patient is treated for Covid-19, they are declared clear of the virus and discharged, but days or weeks later they are wheeled in again with a coronavirus-spawned complication. And the ailments can range from fatigue, shortness of breath to a more severe “crippled” lungs, blood clots and even strokes, according to doctors in several cities that TOI spoke to.


This has prompted hospitals to increasingly institutionalise their role as companions in this challenging journey through opening dedicated clinics that provide post-Covid care to creating special WhatsApp groups that bring together doctors and patients.

The benefits of this monitoring and feedback process are apparent: recently, a Covid hospital in Noida was alerted to the condition of a discharged patient who reported low oxygen levels and breathlessness and was readmitted before his condition deteriorated any further. “The 45-year-old man was discharged in July and readmitted in early August as he was suffering from an infection in the lungs and low oxygen saturation levels. This is despite testing negative for Covid-19,” said Dr Ajit Kumar, spokesperson for Sharda Hospital.

According to Dr Arup Basu, senior chest physician at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram hospital , Covid-19 is known to damage the lungs and even after the infection subsides, scars caused by it remain. “The scars or thickened tissues can make it difficult for lungs to work properly and oxygen support may be required,” he said, mentioning the case of a 22-year-old patient in the hospital who recovered from Covid-19 a month ago but is still in ICU as he requires high flow oxygen support. Doctors have expressed fear that the pandemic is likely to leave a large number of people with “crippled lungs” which may be hard to treat.

Patients with comorbidities — such as diabetes — are finding it even more challenging to get back to “normal”. “I have many patients who have recovered from the infection but their blood sugar levels continue to be unstable, requiring intensive management,” said Dr Ambrish Mithal, chairman and head of endocrinology and diabetes division of MaxHealthcare Hospital (Delhi).

In Chennai, hospitals have recorded an increasing number of Covid-19 patients reporting strokes, heart attacks and life threatening clots in blood vessels.