BAHRAIN medics have backed calls to set up speciality clinics for patients with long Covid, whose symptoms persist for months after an initial infection.
While one of the country’s private hospitals offers post-infection care, Bahrain lacks fully-fledged Post Covid Care Centres which are becoming increasingly popular in many countries.
Such clinics bring together multi-disciplinary teams from a wide range of specialties to address issues that may arise following Covid-19 recovery.
Long-Covid patients or long-haulers, who suffer from Post Acute Covid Syndrome (PACS), may experience a range of symptoms including brain fog, breathlessness on exertion, fatigue, sleep disturbances, memory impairment, depression, palpitations and body weight issues.
These symptoms may persist for more than two weeks and in most cases for several months.
According to studies, between 10 per cent and 20pc of people infected with Covid-19 become long-haulers.
National Taskforce to Combat Covid-19 monitoring committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani acknowledged the need for such clinics, while responding to concerns on social media.
“I agree with you (people who called for long-Covid clinics in Bahrain), there is a need for clinics for this category,” the BDF hospital microbiologist tweeted.
“It is critical to remember that our understanding of Covid-19 and post-Covid-19 is still limited,” he said.
“Researchers are working with post-Covid-19 patients to better understand the disease’s cause, symptoms and effects. We are studying and examining the best diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for this category of patients.”
American Mission Hospital pulmonologist Dr Chellaraja Chellaswamy said the condition, clinically known as PACS, is divided into three classes – those with persistent post-Covid syndrome (PPCS), those with multi-organ involvement syndrome and those with post intensive care (PIC) syndrome.
“As the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be fading, we now have a significant subset of patients with the so-called long-Covid syndrome,” he told the GDN.
“It’s time to focus on PACS patients by settin up long-Covid clinics, wherever possible.
“As with any chronic debilitating illness, PACS patients – despite being a very small percentage (1-3.5pc) in Bahrain – will require both physical and mental rehabilitation.
“With Omicron and its variants exhibiting few long-Covid features, additional measures must be evaluated over time.”
A Bahraini family physician, who asked to remain anonymous, also highlighted the need for clinics for long haulers.
“The presence of such clinics with subspecialties such as respiratory, geriatrics, and infection control would add a modern aspect to healthcare in Bahrain,” said the female medic.
“Even if cases and complications are few and, thank God, mostly stable, a clinic would be ideal and could serve as a model for other countries in the region.”
According to experts, a typical long-term care clinic should include pulmonologist, cardiologist, psychiatrist, physiotherapist, neurologist, endocrinologist and dietitian, among others. It may also include a post-Covid support group to address survivors’ social, economic and personal issues. The clinics should ideally provide appropriate treatment options and be able to integrate into existing hospital or healthcare settings, both public and private.
Meanwhile, Kims Health Group chief executive Dr Sheriff Sahadulla told the GDN that the Royal Bahrain Hospital (RBH) has been assisting patients with post-covid care.
“We had established one such (post-Covid care clinic) at the RBH – I am not sure if such other facilities exist – but we are doing it as a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach since the first stage of Covid-19,” Dr Sahadulla said. He also added that symptoms associated with post-Covid in these patients were much more prevalent during the Delta wave than later.
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