‘Not just the lungs’: Ben spent four weeks in a coma and needed a liver transplant after contracting COVID-19 – 9News

As Australia grapples with a fresh wave of COVID-19 heading into Christmas, new Australian research is adding to a growing body of evidence showing the debilitating effects of long COVID for some patients.

A peer-reviewed study, by doctors at Wollongong Hospital and researchers at the University of Wollongong, found almost 67 per cent of 339 COVID-19 patients surveyed were experiencing symptoms three months after contracting the virus.

One year on from the infection, almost 45 per cent of participants were still reporting symptoms.

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"Long COVID has definitely left a scar on a significant number of people," the study's lead author, Dr Stuart Tan, who is a trauma and rehabilitation specialist at Wollongong Hospital, said.

The research project started with a small number of participants in the early stages of the pandemic in July 2020 and grew in size to include patients from across Australia with a cross-section of COVID-19 variants taking part.

It was published yesterday in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Journal of Internal Medicine.

The study's findings show a higher prevalence of long COVID in participants than some previous research.

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A literature review of long COVID conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in December last year showed the prevalence of patients still suffering symptoms at three months ranged from 8 per cent to 17 per cent in studies from the UK.

One limitation of the Australian study, noted in the research article, was the potential for selection bias, where people experiencing symptoms may be more likely to enrol and continue to participate.

The results of research into the rates of long COVID varied considerably depending on the design of the study, Tan said.

However, his study's results were consistent with one systematic review of almost 10,000 patients which found 73 per cent had at least one persistent COVID-19 symptom, Tan said.

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Fatigue was by far the most common symptom experienced by chronic long COVID sufferers, while respiratory problems tended to ease over time, the study found.

The study confirmed previous research which has shown women appear to be more susceptible to long COVID than men.

Tan said one surprise finding was the marked difference between male and female participants in his study at the three-month post-infection mark - with women being two-and-a-half times more likely to report symptoms than men.

Wollongong man Ben, who asked for his surname to be withheld for privacy reasons, is one of the participants in the study.

Ben, 30, spent a month in a coma at Wollongong Hospital fighting for his life after contracting COVID-19 in June last year - despite being double vaccinated for the virus.

Ben, his wife Samantha and their three-month-old daughter all tested positive to COVID-19 at the same time.

"We had normal symptoms for the most part, but then on day five I woke up and I was kind of delusional," Ben said.

"It hit Sam when I couldn't remember our daughter's name."

"He started deteriorating so quickly," Samantha said.

"He couldn't form actual words. They were jumbled; he thought he was saying something - but it was literally gibberish."

Shortly after arriving at the emergency department, Ben had a seizure.

Doctors diagnosed Ben with having COVID-19-induced encephalitis.

"He was getting quite agitated," Samantha said.

"He didn't know what COVID was. He thought everyone was lying to him, making it up and he was trying to Google it."

Ben's condition continued to deteriorate and he was put in an induced coma. He then suffered a cardiac arrest.

Although doctors managed to revive Ben, they told Samantha to prepare for the worst.

"I got a phone call at 2am telling me to come in and say goodbye," she said.

"His body was just flooded with toxins and his muscles started breaking down.

"The doctors said they'd never seen numbers that high and that he was definitely going to pass, so prepare yourself.

"His whole body just started swelling up like a balloon."

Surgeons performed eight fasciotomies on Ben's legs and right arm, cutting into the muscle compartment to relieve the pressure and debriding his dying muscles.

"They said we're not sure if he'll ever walk again because they took so much muscle," Samantha said.

Ben was in a coma for four weeks and ICU for six weeks before his condition improved enough for him to be moved to the general wards of the hospital.

However, there was another major setback when Ben's skin began to turn yellow and doctors realised he was going into liver failure.

A liver transplant appeared to be the only option, but doctors did not think he would survive the surgery.

Ben's weight had plummeted to 56 kilograms and he was fitted with a nasal feeding tube to help him ingest as many calories as possible.

He also continued working hard with his physio to regain his strength.

"It was a race against the clock because at any point his liver could just completely stop functioning," Samantha said.

Ben was eventually approved for the liver transplant two-and-a-half months later, in October last year.

However, further health complications meant he was not able to have the surgery until February this year.

The young dad surprised doctors with his quick recovery after the transplant, Samantha said.

"He was home in 13 days - on the day of our daughter's first birthday."

However, after months of slowly recovering from the traumatic ordeal, things took another turn for the worse when Ben was re-infected with COVID-19 two months ago.

Ben immediately went into kidney failure and is now undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week.

Doctors have said he will likely need a kidney transplant.

Samantha said she and her husband were constantly being told how rare his body's extreme reaction to COVID-19 was.

"We've had doctors come in and say it's like you have been struck by lightning 600 times - it is just unheard of," she said.

Doctors are now conducting genetic tests on Ben in a bid to understand what appears to be an autoimmune response to the virus.

Samantha said her husband was the last person she expected to develop complications from COVID-19.

"He was 29 when this happened, the fittest person that I know in my life, the healthiest person I know in my life."

Tan said while it was extremely rare for patients to have such a severe reaction to COVID-19 as Ben, his research had shown, contrary to perceptions, it was a virus affecting "not just the lungs".

"We are all familiar with its effect on the lungs, but COVID is a complex illness that can affect multiple organs in the body, including the liver, pancreas and kidneys," he said.

Tan said one positive that could be taken from his research was that it affirmed the protective effect of vaccines.

"The study shows that vaccination does have a protective effect in both reducing the risk of development of long COVID and symptoms and also speed up recovery if you do suffer from symptoms of long COVID," he said.

The findings should be kept in mind as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Australia on the back of the latest wave, which has prompted recent warnings from NSW Health.

"On the basis of this study, there's definitely an advantage in getting boosters, and ensuring that one is fully vaccinated," Tan said.

Although many participants in the study were plagued by persistent symptoms of long COVID, it was apparent that things did get better, he said.

"Long COVID symptoms do improve over time, and for the long COVID sufferers in our community, there is light at the end of the tunnel with appropriate management," he said.

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'Not just the lungs': Ben spent four weeks in a coma and needed a liver transplant after contracting COVID-19 - 9News