Patients have displayed serious and troubling symptoms including breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety and depression two to three months after contracting Covid-19, a major new study found
Scientists at the University of Oxford detected abnormalities in multiple organs and believe that persistent or chronic inflammation may be causing serious problems for coronavirus survivors.
The university's C-MORE study examined 58 patients with moderate to severe laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, who had been admitted for treatment at the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust between March and May 2020.
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After MRI scans and a number of fitness tests, the study found that 64% of patients experienced persistent breathlessness and 55% complained of significant fatigue.
Tissue signal abnormalities were seen in the lungs of 60% of the COVID-19 patients, in the kidneys of 29%, in the hearts of 26%, and the livers of 10%.
The study also found that patients were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a significant impairment in their quality of life compared to a control group.
Dr Betty Raman, who is leading the C-MORE study along with Professor Stefan Neubauer, said: "Our study assessed patients recovering from COVID-19 following hospitalisation, two to three months from disease onset.
"Whilst we have found abnormalities in multiple organs, it is difficult to know how much of this was pre-existing and how much has been caused by COVID-19.
"However, it is interesting to see that the abnormalities detected on MRI and exercise capacity in patients strongly correlated with serum markers of inflammation.
"This suggests a potential link between chronic inflammation and ongoing organ damage among survivors."
The clinical research fellow at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, added: "These findings underscore the need to further explore the physiological processes associated with COVID-19 and to develop a holistic, integrated model of clinical care for our patients after they have been discharged from hospital."
