Persistent covid is chronic fatigue, according to an expert

The section chief of Internal Medicine Department of the Dexeus Hospital in Barcelona, George Robert, points out that the persistent covid it is not a new disease but could actually be triggered chronic fatigue syndrome by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Robert, who is a specialist in chronic fatigue, has published an editorial in the latest issue of the journal ‘Clinical Medicine’ in which he rethinks the status of the so-called persistent covid and question whether it is a new disease.

“Until now, and not with absolute consensus, they have identified three clinical situations related to covid infectionaccording to Robert.

“The first would be the clinical manifestations as a result of the damage to different organs caused by the infection; the second, the secondary manifestations due to hospital admission/ICU or in the treatment of the infection; and the third, the one that generates more uncertainty and doubts is the so-called long covid or persistent covid”, explains the doctor.

Doctors define persistent covid as a series of symptoms that persist for 4-12 weeks after infectioneven in mild and asymptomatic forms, which cannot be explained by a alternative diagnosis.

These symptoms are: fatigue, difficulty thinking or concentrating, orthostatism, palpitations, and muscle and joint pain, all of which are worse after exertion.

the same symptoms

According to Robert, the myalgic encephalitisbetter known as chronic fatigue syndrome, also presents these symptoms that, in both cases, prevent them from carrying out daily tasks and worsen the quality of life of patients.

“We suspect, but have not yet been able to prove, that some viral infections are associated with the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome,” says Robert.

“All this leads us to wonder if there is any difference between those patients diagnosed with persistent covid compared to patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome,” reflects the specialist.

According to Robert, “if we accept that persistent covid is chronic fatigue triggered by coronavirus infection, we should treat persistent covid as a chronic disease. And in the opposite sense, we should verify that the treatments that work in persistent covid are equally useful in patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome”.

Robert concludes the editorial by stating that, in his opinion, the persistent covid name change and suggests that perhaps the covid pandemic “is leading us to another pandemic, this time of a disease known as chronic fatigue syndrome.”