Long-COVID and COVID-19 implications, in all age groups including in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, can only be prevented with worldwide mass vaccination; That was the unanimous message delivered by all three speakers of the October 6 online Round Table Discussion entitled “Important post COVID19 implications,” which opened the 7th Lecture Series of the Institute of Public Health, ACG. (see the 2021-2022 program here).
Professor of Pulmonology Mr. Nikos Tzanakis, Professor of Neurology and President of the Hellenic Neurological Society Mr. Georgios Tsivgoulis and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry Mr. Pavlos Sakkas approached the COVID-19 symptomatology, risks and implications from their specialty’s perspective. According to the current data, 1 in 4 patients will present respiratory impairment and while the majority of patients will improve, 5% will eventually progress to pulmonary fibrosis.
One-third of the patients presents neurological disorders that are considered reversible and are expected to improve in the course of the 6 months following the disease.
Furthermore, patients may also experience anxiety, irritability, depression, sleep disorders, psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder. Referring specifically to children’s reactions, Prof. Sakkas seemed to be reassuring about their adaptive skills towards any kind of challenge, even though they, too, have been affected by the changes brought to their life by the pandemic measures.
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From top left to right: Mr. Pavlos Sakkas, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Professor Panagiotis Behrakis, Pulmonologist–Intensivist, Director of the ACG Institute of Public Health; Mr. Nikos Tzanakis, Professor of Pulmonology at the University of Crete; Mr. Georgios Tsivgoulis, Professor of Neurology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and President of the Hellenic Neurological Society.