PROF JASON KOVACIC: What is long COVID? We've heard so much about it,
Australia's been focused on vaccinations and outbreaks but we sort of see ourselves
transitioning now to focusing on the long-term consequences. So tell us, what is long COVID?
DR DAVID PUTRINO: Long COVID itself is an umbrella term
that helps us to understand anybody who's having persistent symptoms after their initial
COVID-19 infection. There are individuals, now this ranges, there are individuals who had
significant organ damage as a result of their COVID-19 infection and are now having
persistent symptoms as we work to rehabilitate them. There are also individuals who are
experiencing a novel post-viral syndrome which has been really challenging to manage
and treat effectively and we're seeing this this novel post-viral syndrome in around 10 to 15%
of individuals who had COVID-19, not necessarily hospitalised cases of COVID-19, so this is present
in individuals who got quite sick but remained out of the hospital and in some cases only had
mild symptoms but went on to develop quite severe and debilitating post-viral symptoms.
PROF JASON KOVACIC: So what are the most common symptoms David?
DR DAVID PUTRINO: The most common symptom that we're seeing is extreme fatigue,
individuals who are experiencing long COVID really can't get through their day, they have extremely
debilitating fatigue. In addition to fatigue we're seeing post-exertional symptom exacerbation
meaning any sort of physical or cognitive or, worth mentioning, emotional activity can cause
symptoms to flare. We see shortness of breath. We see chest pain. We see heart palpitations.
We see tingling, pain, and numbness down the arms. PROF JASON KOVACIC: How long does
long COVID tend to last? DR DAVID PUTRINO: You know
right now it's an open question. I think that I can tell you from
our patient reporting we have individuals who are at 18 months and counting with their
long COVID symptoms. We are viewing this as a post-viral condition that does not
appear to go away without targeted treatment. PROF JASON KOVACIC: Who's getting hit the
hardest by long COVID, is it older people or children or just everybody right now?
DR DAVID PUTRINO: It's it's hard to know who will get long COVID and who won't.
I can say that rates of long COVID in children according to national reporting seem to be lower
than in adults, I can anecdotally confirm that in terms of children who are getting to our clinic,
but I think we need to be vigilant in understanding that many children don't have
the vocabulary to explain what's going on it's certainly not what we were worried about with
acute COVID which is older adults with chronic comorbidities. This is something that is hitting
young people just as hard as it's hitting anybody else and many of these younger individuals that
are being treated don't have a significant medical history, they were previously fit and healthy.
PROF JASON KOVACIC: So as the Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute we're
always interested in the effects on cardiac patients. Have you seen any specific problems
in people with pre-existing cardiac conditions? DR DAVID PUTRINO: We are certainly seeing
cases of myocarditis and pericarditis emerge in many of our patients with persistent symptoms
and I do believe that a pre-existing cardiac condition requires a little bit more vigilance
especially even though this represents a small percentage, I would say less than one percent
of our cohort are experiencing severe cardiac complications, I think that if you have a prior
a pre-existing cardiac condition it's important to monitor that pre-existing cardiac condition very,
very closely because even though it is quite rare we certainly are seeing that the virus can
cause cardiac inflammation. PROF JASON KOVACIC: In vaccinated
vs unvaccinated people are you tending to see milder long COVID or less long COVID in those
that are vaccinated? How's that working out? DR DAVID PUTRINO: So the data right now on
this is extremely spotty. What we can say is when we were talking about 10 to 15%
of COVID-19 cases getting long COVID, the latest data shows that in breakthrough cases it might be
more like five to six percent which is really good news but it's still very early right now.
The best way to prevent long COVID is to not get COVID-19 - which means masks, which means
social distancing, which means getting the vaccine.