The long suffering after an infection affects around every tenth corona patient - including many doctors, nurses and other members of the health professions.
The Murnau Accident Clinic helps them with a post-Covid program on their way back to (professional) life.
Murnau
- There is no doubt about the necessity: "The need is very high," says Dr. Andrea Prince. The chief physician of Neurology, Neurophysiology and Stroke Unit explains that appointments will be made at the Berufsgenossenschaftlichen (BG) Unfallklinik Murnau by the end of the year. The renowned hospital is one of several BG hospitals with a post-Covid program - it takes care of those patients from the statutory accident insurance who continue to suffer from symptoms for a long time after an infection and who have an occupational illness. In a press conference on Tuesday, Fürst referred to an impressive number: 140,000 corona cases among doctors, nurses and members of the health professions were on record in Germany. Around one in ten will need rehab afterwards,because the symptoms do not want to stop even after a long time. With Long-Covid they persist more than four weeks after an infection, with Post-Covid after more than twelve weeks.
Expert from the Murnau Accident Clinic: Post-Covid often occurs after a mild course of the infection
They occur "often after a mild course," says Fürst.
And they show a huge range: neurological restrictions, physical and mental exhaustion (fatigue), persistent smell and taste as well as concentration and memory disorders, headaches and muscle pain.
In addition, there are problems of the lungs, the cardiovascular system and much more.
Those affected can also suffer from anxiety and depression.
Fürst emphasizes: The prognosis is "usually good", and there are "many spontaneous healings".
She also points to a link between organ damage and psychological consequences.
It is important to pick up the patient where he is.
Post-Covid: With the new program, a whole team from various disciplines takes care of those affected
A whole team from various disciplines will take care of him in the new program. It has several stages: In the post-Covid consultation, experts check findings and give recommendations on how to proceed; it has taken place 109 times in Murnau so far; 65 of these were registered for outpatient consultation hours and 44 times for an inpatient post-Covid check of up to ten days, in which all doctors and therapists involved explain sensible steps and work out options in a team discussion. They examine the patient, assess him and test his resilience. These checks are "very extensive", says Fürst: The clarification of the first affected took 55 to 60 hours. If necessary, the next step would be rehab, which takes place in Murnau or in another specialized hospital.So far, there are three rehab patients in the trauma clinic. This treatment takes place in Murnau when neurological symptoms are in the foreground. The program got off to a good start in the summer, says Fürst, and the outpatient offer started in September.
Help for post-Covid patients: significantly more women affected
According to the chief physician, the first abnormalities around post or long Covid have already appeared.
Patients with a previous psychiatric illness or those who are particularly stressed by a separation or bullying, for example, are predestined to maintain symptoms after a corona infection.
It affects significantly more women - who work more often in nursing - than men and rather few doctors.
The majority of those affected are between 45 and 60 years old.
Among the patients are "a few boys" who were previously in an intensive care unit.
Even today, doctors see people who fell ill in 2020 before vaccinations were available and extensive hygiene measures were implemented.
Such a patient has just been discharged, says Fürst.
The chief doctor, who is confronted with the extreme consequences of Covid-19 in her everyday work, criticizes a “far too careless and too lax handling” of the virus in the population, speaks of “corona parties” that exist - as a variant of the well-known measles parties.
Accident clinic Murnau: More than 80 percent of the employees are fully vaccinated
In terms of the number of corona vaccinations, the UKM workforce ranks well above the average population.
Medical Director Prof. Dr.
Based on the available figures, Fabian Stuby assumes that over 80 percent of all employees received the second injection.
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