Study: Severe COVID infection can be deadly even after recovery
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — People who’ve been hit hard by a coronavirus infection — people who’ve required oxygen treatment, were on bed rest, were unconscious or a combination of the three — as they held on to life as the virus passed are 233 times more likely to die of COVID-19 a year or less after they’ve fully recovered compared to those who suffered from mild symptoms.
This is according to researchers at the University of Florida.
Scientists assessed electronic health records of close to 14,000 patients who tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 178 experienced severe symptoms while 246 had mild or moderate symptoms. Patients were then followed for over 12 months. Scientists found most deaths were associated with some sort of physiological stress associated with an infection.
In a statement, lead study author, Dr. Arch Mainous said: “COVID-19 is even more devastating than we thought when only focusing on the initial episode. The downstream risk for the most severe outcome, death, is definitely high enough to hopefully make everyone rethink the impact of COVID-19.”
Scientists go on to say in a time when nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations are preventable, this study points to an important and under-investigated damaging consequences of a COVID-19 infection.