COVID-19 Study: First 10 Days After Discharge Could Still Lead to Death

COVID-19 is a serious is still a serious threat even with the number of shipments of Pfizer's mRNA vaccine.

It can be remembered that Dr. Fauci from the White House's COVID-19 Task Force reminds the Americans to wear their masks and maintain the physical distancing even with the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, COVID-19 positive patients were found out by the medical experts to develop other medical conditions such as blood clots, and heart diseases which are fatal for the patients.

A study by a research team from the University of Michigan suggests that COVID-19 patients face or carry high risks of trips going back to the hospital, mortality, and other ongoing health problems that can be quite alarming.

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COVID-19 Patient's risk and study method

Study: COVID-19 Patients Faces Trip Back to the Hospital and Ongoing Health Problems

(Photo : Anindito Mukherjee)
Medical staff wearing personal protection equipment operate a robot used to assist patients on December 5, 2020 in New Delhi, India. The "Mitra" robot can connect patients with their loved ones, and can assist healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic by minimisng the risk of infections caused by close contact. The Yatharth Hospital, which is treating Covid-19 patients in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, is one of a handful of hospitals in India that has started to use robots.

According to the University of Michigan Health, the researchers compare post-hospital outcomes from nearly 2,200 veterans who were able to survive their hospitalization from 132 Veteran's Affairs (VA) Hospitals intended for COVID-19 this spring and early summer. They further that the outcomes are about 1,800 similar patients who survived a stay for pneumonia that wasn't related to COVID-19 and 3,500 who survived a heart failure-related stay at the same time.

Medical Xpress reports that the researchers mention the first month of COVID-19 patients discharge from the hospital, the researchers emphasize that they are most at risk for going back to the hospital, mortality, and ongoing health problems.

However, Eureka Alert says that the first week of the patients' discharge, may be dangerous for these people. It is because Eureka Alert adds, that they have a 40 to 60% chance of higher risk of coming back to the hospital or even dying in the first 10 days, compared to the patients treated at the same hospitals during similar months for heart failure and pneumonia.

The study also published in JAMA Network states that 27 percent of survivors of COVID-19 (or the ones who were able to be discharged) had a lower overall risk of readmission to the hospital and demise than heart failure and pneumonia.

Researchers also point out in the University of Michigan Health that 9% of the COVID-19 hospital survivors met their demise. Moreover, 20% encountered or suffered a hindrance that was their access to be sent back to the hospital. Eureka Alert adds that 18.5% decrease during their stay in the hospital.

Precautions needed

The study's first author and Epidemiologist from the Michigan Medical School's Department of Learning Health Sciences, John Donnelly, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., M.S. notes in Medical Xpress that their study proposes essentiality for special vigilance in the first day of the patients after their discharge.

Dr. Donnelly adds in Eureka Alert that through the comparison of COVID-19 patients' long-term outcomes with those of other seriously ill patients, their team sees a pattern of greater than the usual risk during the first to second weeks which can be a risky period for anyone.

Dr. Donnelly and his team exclaim in the release that they are hoping to continue their study with new data from VA and non-VA hospitals as long as it becomes available and compare them to COVID-19 post-hospital outcomes with those for other serious conditions.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on MD News Daily.