How to get rid of post-COVID symptoms in the elderly?

Question

Hi doctor,

My grandfather is a 78-year-old COVID-19 patient with all symptoms gone except for a mild cough with pink phlegm. However, he has fatigue and trouble sleeping. He has a history of controlled atrial fibrillation. I have attached the latest lab results for your reference. He is currently taking Averozolid, Phenadone, Cordarone, Carvid, Cardixin, and Galvus. And his C-reactive protein (CRP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are high. Also, his oxygen saturation is 97 percent. Kindly suggest your opinion as to what I should do.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com. I went through your query and understood your concern. Apparently, the reports show he still has some COVID (coronavirus disease) pneumonia symptoms (attachment removed to protect the patient's identity). It might be some heart-related issues like congestive heart failure because pro-BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) is high, so we also need to consider heart failure. Moreover, since procalcitonin and D-dimer are normal, we are not much worried about the side effects of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) like clotting and infection. So, cough and phlegm usually take a month to settle down after a COVID-19 infection. Now, we need to nebulize him with some steroids (artificial hormones) and a bronchodilator (a medication that relaxes and widens the airways). Then, we need to get his echocardiogram done to check the functioning of his heart and how well his heart is pumping. Also, we need to check if he is taking any blood thinners that are causing pink sputum. In your mentioned medicines, I could not find any blood thinner. And, for trouble sleeping which usually happens after COVID-19, I suggest Melatonin (a hormone that induces sleep) in my patients because Melatonin is highly safe and gives excellent results. However, I do not prefer to give sleeping pills because if suddenly the patient's oxygen saturation drops and he feels breathlessness, the patient is completely sedated. Therefore, he will not be able to react. Please share his echo (echocardiogram) and HRCT (high resolution computed tomography) chest report if you have one. I hope this has helped you out. Please let me know if you need further help.