A growing number of new coronavirus patients who have recovered from the infection and now test negative are still reporting shortness of breath, fatigue and other symptoms. This includes young people, who are said to be less susceptible to severe symptoms. While these can be regarded as aftereffects, their cause and other specifics remain a mystery. To address this issue, the Health, Labor and Welfare Minister has launched fact-finding research.
-- Long recuperation
"I didn't think a person like me in my 20s with no pre-existing condition would suffer this long," said a 21-year-old male university student in Chiba Prefecture, who experienced symptoms such as high fever, shortness of breath and fatigue for about six months.
The student was found to have been infected with the new coronavirus in early April. He contacted a public health center after having a fever above 40 C and severe chest pains, but it took about a week for him to get a PCR test, and another three weeks before he was hospitalized.
He later tested negative and was discharged from the hospital, but he continued to feel poorly and returned to the hospital for about a week in May. Through August, he spent almost every day with a fever around 37.5 C and fatigue that made him unable to get out of bed. He had to take a temporary leave from university as he recuperated at home.
He finally started feeling better earlier this month, and has recently begun taking online classes.
"All I could do was wait to naturally recover while taking pain medication," the student said. "For people suffering [like I did], I want them to find out why the symptoms persist so long and to come up with a treatment."
--Damaged lung cells
More than a few patients treated at Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center experienced lingering symptoms such as shortness of breath or discomfort in their chest or throat.
"It could be caused by pulmonary fibrogenesis, in which cells in the lungs are damaged by the inflammation and do not return to normal, causing the lungs to harden," said Hideya Kitamura of the center's respiratory medicine department, who examined the patients.
However, there are some symptoms that cannot be explained with a link to pulmonary fibrogenesis. Kitamura said it is necessary to keep tabs on mental aspects, such as the concerns and stress a patient feels by being unable to see their path to recovery.
-- Early start to rehabilitation
To lessen aftereffects, some hospitals begin a rehabilitation regimen for coronavirus patients while they still are in hospital.
Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital started in late March to have patients confined to the intensive care unit due to serious illness begin rehabilitation.
Coronavirus patients who develop severe pneumonia or septicemia are susceptible to complications such as impaired lung function or reduced muscular strength in limbs.
In rehab, two physical therapists work together to change the patient's position and, as much as possible, help the patient take a sitting position or practice standing up.
The hospital expanded the program in June to cover all coronavirus patients in need of rehabilitation, including those with mild symptoms.
"By starting rehabilitation at an early stage, we can avoid complications and see a trend of faster recovery," said Nobuo Kohara, a doctor at the hospital.
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