Recently, prominent infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong and his team in China have published a latest research report confirming the existence of chronic COVID in China, which is considered a significant step forward in understanding chronic COVID domestically. Previously, many hospitals in China were reluctant to face chronic COVID, and patients were often redirected to psychiatric treatment, with virus experts attributing this to three main reasons.
On November 17, several Chinese media outlets reported that Professor Zhang Wenhong, Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at Fudan University’s Huashan Hospital, along with Professor Wang Sen and Professor Ai Jingwen from the Infectious Diseases Department of the same hospital, and other experts, published a clinical research report on chronic COVID in the “National Science Review.”
According to reports by The Paper, the study utilized a large-scale joint analysis of proteomics and metabolomics to identify various immune metabolic characteristics of different clinical subtypes of chronic COVID, discovering diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. The study innovatively depicted the homogeneous and heterogeneous immune metabolic characteristics among different clinical subtypes of chronic COVID, providing a solid foundation for new clinical treatment strategies.
Zhang Wenhong’s report highlighted the research background, stating that the ongoing normalization of infection by the novel coronavirus has led to a subset of patients experiencing prolonged respiratory difficulties, fatigue, brain fog, and other symptoms for several months after the acute phase, defined by the World Health Organization as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, commonly known as chronic COVID.
The report also introduced the research team’s initiation of the study in 2022, analyzing the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 21,826 patients with first-time infection of chronic COVID. It was found that 8.89% of patients reported chronic COVID symptoms six months after infection, and approximately 20%-30% of these patients continued to experience symptoms after one year.
Dr. Dong Yuhong, a virologist from Europe, explained that chronic COVID has been the subject of extensive clinical and fundamental research abroad. Scholars have been tracking and reporting the sequelae of chronic COVID for the past three years (2021-2022), with patients experiencing various recurring symptoms post-chronic COVID infection, with over two hundred types identified, posing a significant challenge in the medical field as a recognized category of difficult-to-treat sequelae of chronic COVID infection.
On November 21, a health researcher from Shanghai, a popular social media influencer with over 300,000 followers, noted in an article that chronic COVID is not a common cold; the accumulation of evidence of chronic COVID validates the experiences of many patients. It can be considered a significant step forward in acknowledging chronic COVID domestically.
He emphasized the difficulty in correctly diagnosing chronic COVID, urging for trust in patients’ feelings, as repeat infections can increase the risk of incurable immunity issues. He criticized the initial treatment of chronic COVID patients as psychiatric cases, questioning the prevalent misconception of anxiety disorders among these individuals.
In Zhang Wenhong’s latest research report, many chronic COVID patients who had been redirected to psychiatric treatment felt a sense of relief, leading to a surge in comments from chronic COVID patients sharing their past experiences of being misdiagnosed and treated for psychiatric issues.
A patient from Zhejiang expressed, “I have been experiencing chest tightness and dizziness for half a year now. I’ve exhausted all the funds on my medical insurance card, too afraid to go outside alone as I often feel dizzy and on the verge of collapsing. The doctor suggested psychiatric care for me.”
Ms. Chen from Hubei stated that she was incorrectly diagnosed with anxiety and ear inflammation, drained her medical insurance funds annually, and felt the treatment was unbearable.
Another patient from Shanghai revealed, “After testing positive, I had heart issues on my ECG, but various tests showed no organic abnormalities. I requested a further diagnostic imaging scan, but the doctor at Ruijin Hospital refused and sent me to a psychiatric clinic. I was furious as it seemed baseless. My life was normal; it’s just that I noticed something wrong with my heart after testing positive, with the erratic heartbeat not due to my mental state.”
A patient from Fujian shared, “Due to my continuously high heart rate – even minor movements would elevate it to 140 beats per minute, causing moments where I couldn’t move while lying in bed. Despite cardiology examinations failing to pinpoint the reason, they claimed it was psychosomatic anxiety.”
A netizen from Zhejiang recounted, “My friend has been under psychiatric care since April, worsening over time, resulting in a prolonged hospitalization period and daily treatment with psychiatric drugs. Family members found it perplexing, as there were no apparent triggers for the sudden mental deterioration, initially manifesting as brain fog symptoms before escalating.”
A patient from Hebei lamented, “Some doctors now simply attribute undiagnosed illnesses to patient anxiety, which, when left unresolved with persistent symptoms, can eventually lead to actual anxiety disorders.”
A chronic COVID patient named Wang Hua (a pseudonym) from Hubei, in an interview with a reporter, shared his experience of being advised to seek psychiatric evaluation after extreme fatigue symptoms following a cold in late March. Despite the recommendation, he chose not to follow through, asserting his mental stability and unrelatedness to psychiatric treatment, especially as a hobbyist boxer.
He noted that the current public reposts on chronic COVID had influenced the treatment approach towards new chronic COVID patients, indicating a shift from previous misdiagnoses, such as his case being referred to a psychiatric clinic, which had been frustrating for the past few months.
A woman named Wu from Guangdong informed reporters that both she and her husband were struggling even months after contracting COVID, affecting their daily lives, with an additional lung condition involving the identification of lung nodules.
Among numerous chronic COVID patients, only one from Beijing shared being diagnosed with “slow fatigue” due to chronic COVID at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, reflecting his past struggles of being stigmatized and dismissed as insane, expressing relief for receiving compassion from medical professionals finally.
User “Yue Eleven” disclosed in the health influencer’s comment section the tragic experience of her aunt who succumbed to complications from chronic COVID-induced autoimmune diseases, highlighting the delayed recognition leading to misdiagnosis and missed optimal treatment opportunities due to vague diagnoses by hospitals, with subtle references to COVID. The aunt passed away on November 4.
She continued, “While treatment commenced from an immunological perspective in June, the delayed diagnosis had severe consequences, exacerbating symptoms one week post-immunotherapy. Subsequently, she spent over two months in the ICU, battling for life before succumbing to multiple organ failure.”
Dr. Dong Yuhong explained that the progression from COVID infection to chronic COVID results from various factors, including the chronic nature of the virus that eludes complete eradication similar to acute infections. Additionally, inadequate antiviral defense mechanisms within the body contribute to repeated viral outbreaks, inducing a chronic, unresolved state of infection.
Moreover, sustained immune-related inflammation within the body, coupled with chronic microvascular obstructions, exacerbate chronic COVID symptoms affecting vital organs such as the heart, lungs, brain, nerves, blood vessels, among others, showcasing a comprehensive manifestation of the disease’s impact on various bodily functions.
Regarding the lack of acknowledgment of chronic COVID and its casual dismissal as a psychiatric condition within China, Dr. Dong outlined three main reasons: firstly, the zero-COVID policy in China discredits the existence of ongoing COVID cases, leading to a reluctance in recognizing chronic COVID and steering public opinion.
Secondly, the complex pathogenesis of chronic COVID involves multidimensional factors that, without fundamental improvements in an individual’s constitution, hinder potential recoveries, further complicating treatment. Thus, even if acknowledged, the absence of effective medications or treatments prompts healthcare providers to avoid recognition.
Lastly, long-term psychological stress can worsen chronic COVID symptoms. Therefore, attributing such cases to psychiatric disorders reflects a blend of the overall impact on physical health—ranging from chronic inflammation to organ dysfunction—striking major life-sustaining functions, distinct from purely psychiatric conditions.
Dr. Dong emphasized, “While emotional or mental disturbances may accompany chronic COVID cases in a minority of patients, most cases exhibit substantial pathological changes in addition to chronic inflammatory states and progressive organ dysfunctions, distinguishing them from primary psychiatric conditions.” Organic psychiatric disorders refer to temporary or permanent functional impairments of brain tissue resulting in abnormal behaviors and cognitive impairments that hinder personality, emotional, cognitive, social, and occupational functions.