Patients recovering from COVID-19 need care, support

Patients recovering from COVID-19 who are discharged from hospital may continue to need care and support as many of them could develop persistent psychological difficulties as a result of their experiences of illness and treatment, say new guidelines from the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

Some recovering patients may also present with varying degrees of communication or cognitive impairment, NHS said, adding that the impact of COVID-19 on patients is a rapidly-evolving picture and comprehensive data is not yet available on all aspects.

So primary and community health services should work with families, care homes and domiciliary care to support the provision of holistic care for patients discharged from hospital after COVID-19.

There is evidence that patients with COVID-19 experience a high prevalence of thromboembolic disease in which blood clots form in blood vessels, according to the NHS.

Furthermore, some patients treated in intensive care units with severe COVID-19 develop pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Patients with pulmonary embolic disease will require treatment based upon review by appropriate teams to define the optimal duration of anticoagulation and long-term follow-up, according to the document titled 'After-care needs of inpatients recovering from COVID-19'.

Over 297,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK, while more than 41,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.