Rise in neurological issues faced by recovered Covid patients
A private health facility in the national capital on Saturday said it is reporting a rise in neurological issues among post-Covid patients. In the out-patient department (OPD), up to 60 per cent of patients are presenting increasing mental health issues like anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, and majority of these are post-Covid cases, the Moolchand Hospital said in a statement.
Doctors at the private facility said the neurological issues among post-Covid patients have seen a “troubling rise” here. The Moolchand Hospital said it has been “recording increasing cases of intracerebral (brain) haemorrhage, and 50 per cent of the neuroscience department is filled with such cases”.
The doctors also said that people who have survived the pandemic and those who were infected with Covid-19 are increasingly coming to the hospital many weeks later with symptoms such as headache, giddiness, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, memory problems, anxiety, depression, stroke, pain and sleep disorders.
In the OPD, up to 60 per cent of patients are coming with mental health issues like headache, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, feeling of loneliness etc, the statement said. “Majority of these cases are those who have had Covid-19 infection in the past, with a gap of two to three months,” senior neurosurgeon at Moolchand Hospital, Dr Asha Bakshi, said.
“Such issues are severely affecting their personal as well as professional lives. Many complained that they find it extremely tough to focus during work. People are struggling with work-life adjustment issues as well,” she said. Bakshi said the pandemic has led to some long-term neurological issues. She cited the Global Consortium Study of Neurologic Dysfunction in Covid-19 (GCS-NeuroCOVID) and the European Academy of Neurology Neuro-COVID Registry (ENERGY) of over 3,700 patients.