COVID RECOVERY CHECK

Coronaviruses are a common group of viruses. Some viruses of Corona affect only animals whereas a few others can also affect humans. In humans, many coronaviruses are known to cause infections to respiratory system ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases E.g., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The most recently discovered coronavirus called as 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is responsible to cause Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

How does COVID – 19 spread?

• The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in droplets (small liquid particles) when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe.
• One may directly get infected from this or may also get infected when these droplets land on surfaces and objects.
• The infection may spread by touching contaminated surfaces and objects.

Signs and Symptoms

• Sneezing and coughing
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Loss of smell / taste
• Diarrhoea
• Chest pain

SARS-CoV-2 infection and its long term effects:

Though most of patients with infection will recover with few days, some of the symptoms can stay up to months. SARS-CoV-2 can also damage vital organs like lungs, heart, brain, liver, kidneys, etc. Old age patients and patients with other serious medical conditions are most likely to experience some of the symptoms for longer period of time. Most common symptoms that are known to persist are:

• Fatigue, Dizziness
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Cough
• Joint pain, chest pain
• Memory, concentration or sleep problems
• Muscle pain or headache
• Depression or anxiety

Though SARS-CoV-2 affects the lungs and respiratory system, it also causes alterations in blood clotting mechanism and alters some of the immune responses.

COVID-19 is known to cause blood clots and these clots can affect heart, lungs, brain liver and kidneys. Increasing rate of heart damage in COVID-19 infected patients is believed to be due to small blood clots clogging blood vessels in heart. These clots can also lead to stroke, pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. Hence, it is very crucial to monitor the health after the recovery to assess the risk of developing other serious conditions.

If you have recovered from COVID-19, it does not necessarily mean that reinfection will not occur. Hence, continue to maintain social distancing, appropriate use of mask and follow local guidelines to protect yourself from infection.

Your doctor may ask you to get this test done if you:

• Have recently recovered from COVID-19 infection.
• Have other chronic conditions like diabetes or heart problems and recovered from COVID-19
• Old age patients

To understand the level of antibodies in the body: SARS-COV-2 Spike IgG Antibodies (Quantitative)

Overall understanding of the progression of disease: CBC

Liver: LDH, SGPT, SGOT

Thyroid: TSH 3^rd Generation Ultra

Hyperglycemia: Glucose fasting

Cardiovascular health: Lipid screen

Kidney: Creatinine, BUN

Bone health: 25-hydroxy Vitamin D

Inflammation: CRP, Ferritin, Quantitative D-dimer

Requirements: Fasting of 8-12 hours is required