Long Covid study in Brazil shows lasting effects in 60 percent of patients

One of Brazil’s first long Covid studies, carried out by São Paulo’s flagship Hospital das Clínicas, shows that 60 percent of coronavirus patients suffered from some form of long-lasting effects after being discharged from the hospital. Reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, memory loss, and muscle weakness.

The hospital monitored 750 patients who were admitted for Covid-19 treatment in the first half of 2020. Since, these individuals have undergone a series of tests with neurologists, physiologists, and psychiatrists, with the results logged in a database.

While receiving treatment for these long-term effects, the patients will be monitored over the space of four years. Once finished, the study will be published in a scientific journal.

The survey drew the attention of public policymakers at the municipal, state, and federal level, which are keen on adopting the same protocols in the public network to assess the effects of long Covid.

The triage model used by the Hospital das Clínicas will be implemented by 18 public health clinics, with plans to expand the project nationwide.

Researchers are also monitoring another group of patients treated in the hospital between May and July of this year, with a view to comparing long Covid outcomes between different variants of the disease.

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