U of U long COVID clinic shares findings after three years of seeing patients
Jul 18, 2024, 8:00 PM
Crystal Pederson, a patient at the University of Utah's Long COVID Clinic in Salt Lake City. (Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio)
(Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio)
SALT LAKE CITY — Three years after opening, the Long COVID Clinic at University of Utah Hospital has released some of its findings.
The clinic has treated more than 3,000 patients over the last three years according to Dr. Jeanette Brown, the clinic’s medical director.
Related: The long arm of long COVID in Utah
Brown said that today, they’re seeing fewer people who have trouble smelling or tasting things.
Now, common signs are fatigue, low exercise tolerance and sleep disorders.
And, “What we call post-exertional malaise, which is if you exercise real hard or have an emotional stressor then 24-48 hours later, you’re exhausted, can’t get out of bed, can’t function as well,” Brown said.
Two-thirds of long COVID patients at Utah clinic are female
Doctors also found that two-thirds of all their patients are female.
Half of the clinic’s patients are from rural and underserved areas. The clinic also said its average patient is in their late 40s.
Brown said there are more people with long COVID that they haven’t seen.
“Long COVID is still around. That’s the other thing. We still see new referrals.”
Furthermore, Brown said patients are still coming in with conditions they haven’t seen before.
“We’re always having new illnesses that outbreak. So the more we learn directly helps these patients, but also potentially patients in the future.”
Adam Small is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. He primarily reports on the Great Salt Lake and Natural Resources. Follow him on Facebook and X.
Related: Pregnant women who contract COVID could experience long COVID symptoms study finds
