Dr Oscar Duke has spoken on BBC Morning Live about the effects of Long Covid and potential treatments, following a major new study published last week
Dr Oscar Duke sought to separate facts from fiction on BBC Morning Live today, amid headlines surrounding Long Covid. The London-based professional said that although numerous theories exist about ‘curing’ the illness, studies providing strong evidence are scarce.
Speaking to the show’s presenters, he explained: “Long Covid is a huge problem, about 1.8% of people who’ve had Covid suffer with Long Covid. And we tend to say that these are symptoms from Covid, so you have your acute infection, and then these are symptoms that persist beyond generally three months or so, to sort of give it a cut-off.
“But, of course any of these symptoms can be really debilitating, it can be anything from shortness of breath to brain fog – there is a whole host of different things. And with that, a whole host of different theories of ways that you could potentially treat Long Covid.”
Dr Duke urged the public to look out for scientific articles which use ‘meta-analysis’ to investigate Long Covid. This specifically regards those which review numerous different studies, including one published by researchers in the British Medical Journal last week.
Here, the Canadian-based team gathered evidence from an impressive 3,695 patients and 24 trials to understand what treatments are most effective when dealing with Long Covid. Their significant finding was that approaches like hyperbaric oxygen chambers and coenzyme Q10 supplements showed ‘no compelling evidence’ of improving its symptoms.
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However, ‘moderate certainty evidence’ suggested that cognitive behavioural therapy and physical and mental health rehabilitation were beneficial for dealing with the resultant fatigue and brain fog. Intermittent aerobic exercise was praised by scientists too, as it reportedly ‘improves physical function’ compared with continuous exercise.
Despite this, Dr Duke asserted that more evidence is required to better understand the consequences of Long Covid and its best treatments. This echoes guidance from the NHS which stresses that it’s a ‘a new condition which is still being studied’.
“It’s really, really difficult and I think we need more evidence,” Dr Duke summarised. “We don’t have a definite answer yet.”
The NHS’ full list of the most common Long Covid symptoms is below:
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Extreme fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Brain fog/concentration issues
