Coronavirus: some recovered patients may have reduced lung function and are left gasping for air while walking briskly, Hong Kong doctors find
- Hospital Authority releases its findings after observing the first group of discharged coronavirus patients
- Some patients might have a drop of about 20 to 30 per cent in lung function, says medical director of Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital
Some patients who recovered from Covid-19 have suffered reduced lung function and now experience problems such as gasping for air when walking quickly, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has revealed.
The authority released its findings on Thursday after observing the first group of discharged coronavirus patients.
Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin, medical director of the authority’s Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung, said doctors had already seen around a dozen discharged patients in follow-up appointments. Two to three were unable to do things as they had in the past.
“They gasp if they walk a bit more quickly,” Tsang told a media briefing on Thursday. “Some patients might have around a drop of 20 to 30 per cent in lung function [after recovery].”
Tsang, who also heads an authority task force on the clinical management of infection, said these patients would undergo tests to determine how much lung function they still had. Physiotherapy would also be arranged to strengthen their lungs.
