SARS-Cov-2 Might Cause Persistent Fatigue among Patients Recovered from COVID-19, Study Suggests

According to a new study led by the researchers of St James's Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute have reported about persistent fatigue that is prevalent among over 50% of the patients recovered from COVID-19, irrespective of the significance of their infection. Researchers also suggested that along with the rising prevalence COVID-19 infections, there is rising incidence of post-infection problems encountered by the recovered patients. In addition, fatigue is a common symptom observed in patients with COVID-19 infection.

Dr. Townsend, stated, “In particular, concern has been raised that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to cause persistent fatigue, even after those infected have recovered from COVID-19. In our study, we investigated whether patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection remained fatigued after their physical recovery, and to see whether there was a relationship between severe fatigue and a variety of clinical parameters. We also examined persistence of markers of disease beyond clinical resolution of infection.”

In this study, researchers utilized Chalder Fatigue Score (CFQ-11), a commonly-used scale to determine fatigue in recovered patient pool. Moreover, they considered the severity of the patient's initial infection including their pre-existing conditions such as depression. The study involved 128 participants of average age of 50 years, and out of 128 participants 54% were female who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Researchers informed that over 50% of the participants reported about persistent fatigue.

Moreover, researchers suggested that out of 128 patients assessed in this study, 71 patients (55.5%) were admitted to hospital and 57patients (44.5%) were not admitted, indicating that fatigue affected both groups equally, irrespective of the significance of their infection.