THE ESSENTIAL
- The number of patients in intensive care due to Covid-19 has fallen below 1,000 in France, a first since the end of July 2021.
- Since March 2020, 148,230 people have died from Covid-19.
In a press release, the National Academy of Medicine has just come out in favor of neurological and psychiatric monitoring of the long forms of Covid-19.
Acute phase
“Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of neurological-like symptoms, in both adults and children. In the acute phase, these symptoms raise questions regarding their relationship with the viral infection, their mechanism and their consequences on the future of patients”, explains the institution. Their occurrence or persistence beyond 4 weeks characterizes the long form of Covid-19, an entity that is still poorly defined.
“The possibility of sequelae corresponding to lasting symptoms is now raised by several follow-up studies of infected patients. These mainly affect the neuropsychiatric sphere, but long-term persistent symptoms are also observed in other respiratory, cardiovascular and , neurosensory or even endocrine”, say the doctors.
Work group
Beyond the symptoms, such as fatigue, memory complaint, difficulty concentrating, insomnia with non-restorative sleep, hypersomnia, mood disorders and pain limited to headaches or diffuse, several proofs authenticate a decline in cognitive performance in almost 10% of long Covid-19s, one year following infection.
Due to the high number of patients with Covid-19 infection, the National Academy of Medicine:
– alert on the risk of a substantial increase in the burden linked to lasting cognitive disorders on the health system due to this viral infection;
– sets up a dedicated working group, entitled “Covid and the nervous system”, in order to better understand the acute neurological forms of Covid-19 and the neuropsychiatric symptomatology described in the prolonged forms;
– emphasizes the importance of studying, in particular, the long-term consequences and the social weight of these prolonged neurological and psychiatric forms, as well as their possibilities of preventive or curative treatment.
