Complications after Covid-19

By Reva Agarwal

The COVID-19 virus can cause many complications, mainly but not limited to the lungs. Ranging from pneumonia, to more severe infections such as ARDS, sepsis, and superinfections.

Pneumonia is an infection that occurs when the air sacs in your lungs fill with fluid or pus, therefore making it difficult for the air sacs to hold air. Symptoms of pneumonia include cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Covid-19 is a cause of pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by coronavirus usually affects both lungs.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) occurs as pneumonia caused by Covid-19 progresses. Air sacs in the lungs are filled with the fluid leaking in blood vessels in the lungs.

Sepsis is an infection that causes tissue damage everywhere it spreads. “Lungs, heart and other body systems work together like instruments in an orchestra,” Galiatsatos says. “In sepsis, the cooperation between the organs falls apart. Entire organ systems can start to shut down, one after another, including the lungs and heart.”

A superinfection occurs when another infection spreads on top of Covid-19. Fighting germs and infections weakens the body’s immune system leaving it more vulnerable to another infection.

From John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Panagis Galiatsatos, M.D., M.H.S. researches lung diseases and sees patients with Covid-19. He researched these diseases and the effect they have on patients with Covid-19. According to Galiatsatos, lung damage caused by coronavirus depends on three factors, disease severity, health conditions, and treatment. “The first is the severity of the coronavirus infection itself — whether the person has a mild case, or a severe one,” Galiatsatos says. Milder cases cause less damage to lung tissue. “The second is whether there are existing health problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart disease that can raise the risk for severe disease.” In addition to being more vulnerable to a more severe case of Covid-19, old people often have less elasticity in their lung tissues and weakened immunity due to age. Chances of lung damage go down when people receive treatment early on. “Treatment is the third factor,” he says. “A patient’s recovery and long-term lung health is going to depend on what kind of care they get, and how quickly.”

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/what-coronavirus-does-to-the-lungs