Mumbai: Lung issues biggest reason for post-Covid return to hospital

MUMBAI: The number of patients needing hospitalisation after a Covid-19 infection is worrying doctors in the city.
While the state does not maintain a registry on the number of readmissions among Covid-19 patients, experts said that patients who spent over 15 days in hospital or had severe symptoms are at a higher risk of being hospitalised again.
“The number of fresh Covid-19 patients is decreasing, but readmission numbers are enough to be noticed, especially among the elderly,” said Dr Avinash Supe, former dean of KEM Hospital and a member of the state government task force on Covid-19 mortality.
The main cause for rehospitalisation is more often than not post-Covid lung complications. “The lungs are badly scarred and rigid, raising the risk of a secondary infection,” said Dr Supe.
A doctor recalled how a 76-year-old patient who was in hospital for over 15 days during the first stint with Covid developed severe breathing issues after returning home in Talegaon. “She was admitted to the ICU locally, but died a couple of days later with severe inflammation in her lungs,” he added.
Post-Covid patients who needs oxygen support at home — perhaps for months — are most vulnerable.
Pulmonologist Dr Lancelot Pinto from Hinduja Hospital said Covid patients with severe infection stay longer in hospital. “This makes them vulnerable to hospital-acquired infections caused by bacteria or fungus. At times, patients go back home and develop clotting issues,” he said.
A negative test after a Covid infection is not the end, said doctors. While the acute infection is mostly restricted to 15 days, in senior citizens and patients with co-morbidities there is a need to stay alert for at least three months.
Consider the post-Covid clinic in Fortis Hospital, Mulund, which saw 170 new patients in May. Infectious diseases specialist Dr Anita Mathew from Fortis said: “The Sars-CoV-2 virus has been capable of infecting a wide range of tissues in the body. The impact is such that months after their initial infection, some Covid patients suffer a baffling number of symptoms.”
She said that out of every 100 patients who visit the post-Covid clinics, at least 70 have some symptoms of long Covid. “Around 20% of these experience severe symptoms that need urgent attention,” she added.