Nonhospitalized Long-Haul Coronavirus Patients Susceptible to Cognitive Dysfunction

A group of researchers from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University has discovered additional evidence of cognitive dysfunction in many coronavirus patients who were not hospitalized after contracting the infection. The group’s findings were reported in the “Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology” journal.

In the study, the researchers looked into medical data of nonhospitalized coronavirus patients from 21 different states who were experiencing long-term symptoms of the coronavirus, documenting what they discovered from the study.

As the pandemic surges on, despite measures to contain it, media outlets have continued to report statistics on the number of mortalities and number of coronavirus infections. However, not much attention has been paid to individuals who were harmed by the deadly virus but not enough to be hospitalized. This is why the team of researchers decided to unearth more information about some of the long-term effects experienced by individuals who had contracted the infection, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

To discover more information about these patients who are now commonly referred to as long haulers, the researchers acquired the data of 100 patients from medical institutions in 21 states; the patients had all contracted the coronavirus but were not admitted to hospital. Some of these patients were seen in person with many visiting the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which is located in Chicago, while others opted for the telehealth option. The researchers noted that nearly half of the data obtained involved patients who hadn’t been diagnosed with the infection but were believed to have been infected with the virus.

The team of researchers discovered that about 85% of the patients studied in their research revealed that they had at least four neurological symptoms, the most common of which were found to be tingling, numbness, headaches and brain fog. Other symptoms the researchers found to be common were ringing in the ears, dizziness, blurred vision and the loss of smell and/or taste. The researchers also noted that most of these patients described these symptoms as on and off, with many of them revealing that their symptoms lasted for several months, with some lasting for as long as nine months.

Additionally, the researchers discovered that the majority of the patients they observed reported that they felt anxious or depressed prior to their infection, which may suggest an increased risk of long-haul symptoms for individuals with similar conditions.

The researchers admitted that while their study was small, it was big enough to demonstrate that long haulers could possibly need more care than many researchers and health-care providers realize.

Another group that needs more care are patients suffering from cystic fibrosis as well as chronic pancreatitis, particularly those who develop exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (aka EPI). AzurRx BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: AZRX) is conducting clinical trials on a drug candidate that could help EPI patients get relief.

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