Filenews 26 March 2022 - by Marilena Panayi
Pains in the muscles and joints, easy fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, easy shortness of breath, decreased stamina, tachycardia, headaches, menstrual cycle disorders, exacerbation of chronic diseases, decreased appetite. Problems that negatively affect the functionality of people.
Memory disorders - fatigue: People who suddenly during the day, especially in the afternoons, lose the strength or clarity that used to possess them. Telogen hair loss: People, especially women who suddenly see their hair fall out, with all that this entails for their psychology and their lives. Problems with serious psychosocial effects on the people who live them. Sleep disorders, anxiety. Suffering that does not subside and with it lives a third of the people who during their diagnosis with coronavirus had developed at least one symptom of covid -19 disease.
A new group of patients. The 'long covid'. They do not have common characteristics to be monitored by a medical specialty since in everyone the "long covid" syndrome occurs in a different way and may include one or even a combination of the 50 different symptoms that have been described by doctors internationally and are found perfectly in Cyprus.
These symptoms continue to suffer for at least three months after coronavirus disease or appear up to two months after diagnosis (such as telogen trolleying) or never stop, such as memory or sleep disorders or joint pains described even by people who have gone through the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic.
The numbers and the experience of the doctors of Cyprus show that on our island the effects of the "long covid" syndrome are already lived by a few tens of thousands of people. A rough calculation based on the number of cases recorded and the percentage of people who reported at least one symptom during diagnosis, leads us to the conclusion that the number of "long covid" patients already reaches 30,000 - 40,000. Official statistical data on the condition of these patients in Cyprus do not yet exist. However, from the descriptions of Cypriot doctors it is found that a large number of "long covid" patients present memory disorders, while since last summer several cases of telogen hair loss in women have begun to be recorded. These two symptoms do not seem to stand out so much for their incidence, since in the absence of evidence the categorization of symptoms is still difficult, but what makes them "stand out" is more the psychosocial problems they create.
The way in which the patients themselves describe the problem they face during their first visit to a doctor, is almost identical and "impresses", as the president of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations, Konstantinos Tsioutis, characteristically mentioned in "F", noting at the same time that "patients are the ones who can describe the symptom / problem they face for this and in this case doctors we need to give time to listen to them."
"The difficulty of concentrating is often described as having a veil or a fog inside their head that does not let them think. Fatigue usually occurs in the afternoon and is particularly intense to the point that it prevents them from simple tasks inside the house. Shortness of breath is often described as stepping on their chest. Anorexia is described as eating stones, the headache is described as an indeterminate weight on the head that comes and goes in waves." However, "despite the clear descriptions and the undeniable existence of symptoms, it is noteworthy that the findings from the clinical examination of these individuals may be completely normal", which is an even greater challenge for doctors.
The first official attempt to record the symptoms of "long covid" patients began last summer in Cyprus, by the Federation of Patients' Associations through a study that is in progress and aims to identify both the problems and the needs of people who have been suffering for a long time after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
The first official patient network in Cyprus
At an international level, the first organized groups of "long covid" patients began to be created, and in Cyprus this initiative was undertaken by the Federation of Patients' Associations of Cyprus, which has already created the Cypriot network "long covid Cyprus", which is connected to the corresponding European network.
"The recognition of this condition, the 'long covid' syndrome, at an international level, was due to the mobilization of the patients themselves in an effort to communicate the problem to the medical community", said Mr. Tsioutis and added: "If we take into account the symptoms described but also from our own experience as doctors, we easily realize that the everyday life of people suffering from the "long covid" is not so easy and to many cases where our patients find it difficult to respond properly to their work and other obligations." It is precisely this fact that "has created the need for the creation of 'long covid Cyprus', whose objectives are similar to those of other European networks that are already in operation":
> Recognition by the State and the medical community of the long-covid disease in Cyprus, as a multisystemic medical condition.
> Recognition by the State and the medical community of the long-term effects of "long covid" in Cyprus at an individual, social, economic and professional level.
> Development of specialized medical structures, rehabilitation structures and medical procedures and protocols for the investigation, diagnosis, management and rehabilitation of patients with "long covid" in Cyprus.
> Creation of research centres and financial and administrative support of research protocols, with a focus on "long covid".
> Communication support from the State and the medical and scientific community, to enhance the recognition of the "long covid" in Cyprus and the consequences it has on the quality of life of patients with "long covid".
> Recognition of medical and labour rights to people suffering from "long covid" in Cyprus.
> Support by the State for the provision of professional and financial facilities as well as facilities for gradual reintegration into work for people suffering from "long covid" in Cyprus".
The "Long-Covid Cyprus" Facebook network accepts as its members, both patients with "long covid" and other citizens who wish to contribute to the whole effort. The network has a team of doctors and the coordinating initiative team has already been established, which operates under the OSAC.
Challenge for doctors
In the case of "long covid", "the doctor has a role to analyze the problems that the patient describes and to offer him the options that are appropriate in his case. It is a procedure that poses challenges to the clinician, as he is called upon to use patience and knowledge to distinguish all the patient's problems, their characteristics and, most difficultly, to find ways to help his patient. The chronicity of this condition, the fact that many mechanisms that cause it are unknown, the diagnostic procedure that is often required to exclude other causes, the lack of targeted treatment options (e.g. specific drugs), as well as the need for cooperation with many different specialties, further raise the bar of difficulty.
