Medical imaging has shown that, in some cases, COVID-19 can cause the body to attack itself, giving the first glimpse of what lies behind mysterious, serious, long-lasting and sometimes bizarre symptoms – even in those who didn’t know they were. virus. , a new study has found.
From rheumatoid arthritis outbreaks to autoimmune problems to “COVID toes,” there have been several reports of unusual and potentially worrisome symptoms associated with the coronavirus, many of which were a mystery during the pandemic.
But according to a study from Northwestern Medicine, radiological imaging has “confirmed and illustrated the causes of these symptoms for the first time.”
“We have realized that the COVID virus can trigger the body to attack itself in different ways, leading to rheumatological problems that require lifelong management,” said corresponding author Dr. Swati Deshmukh in a press release.
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Skeletal Radiology, found that imaging through CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds can help explain why some patients suffer from “long-lasting musculoskeletal symptoms” after contracting the virus.
“Many patients with COVID-related musculoskeletal disorders recover, but for some individuals, their symptoms become severe, are of great concern to the patient, or affect their quality of life, leading them to seek medical attention and imaging,” said Deshmukh, an assistant. professor of musculoskeletal radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a musculoskeletal radiologist from Northwestern Medicine, said. “That imaging allows us to see if COVID-related muscle and joint pain, for example, is not just physical pain, similar to what we see with the flu, but something more insidious.”
In some cases, the imaging may even suggest that a patient may have had COVID-19 but otherwise did not know they had it, the study revealed.
According to the Deshmukh, experts look for fluid or swelling in tissues, blood collections or gangrene.
“In some patients the nerves are injured and in others the problem is decreased blood flow,” said Deshmukh.
Bizarre symptoms such as “COVID toes”, which in some cases can last for months, have been reported during the pandemic, but are not as common as other common symptoms related to the virus.
However, according to the study, there is a “surprising number of extra-pulmonary manifestations” associated with the virus, along with new reports of other musculoskeletal disorders and disorders, which “can have serious short and long-term consequences.”
Such long-term inflammation recently made headlines after Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that she had been suffering from certain conditions for months after her initial diagnosis.
“I had COVID-19 early on, and it gave me some long tail fatigue and brain fog,” Paltrow wrote in a recent post for her website, Goop.
Paltrow said she had tests in January that showed she had “really high levels of inflammation in my body.”
Researchers in the Northwestern study said they hope their findings will help doctors properly treat certain rare conditions that may accompany a coronavirus diagnosis.
“I think it’s important to distinguish between what directly causes the virus and what prompts the body to do,” said Deshmukh. “It is important for doctors to know what is happening in order to be able to treat correctly.”