Asymptomatic patients urged to inform GP of positive result
ASYMPTOMATIC patients should tell their GP if they test positive for coronavirus antibodies, as being infected could lead to long-term problems, a former Public Health England consultant has warned.
Those who catch Covid-19 but display no symptoms, then later discover their status by taking an antibody test, will not be officially recorded as having contracted it on their health records, said Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University Medical School.
Dr Pankhania said if their doctors are not aware that their patients have caught the virus, this could prevent them from delivering the best treatment if they develop complications further down the line. The warning comes after scientists highlighted the importance of large-scale testing to root out those who may have the virus but have no symptoms and do not take an antibody test.
Researchers from Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, said the “silent spread of the virus” and “such a high asymptomatic rate” meant the net needed to be cast wide.
“Asymptomatic people without symptoms then recover, they remain in the low-risk group,” Dr Pankhania told The Sunday Telegraph. “They never reported illness in the first instance and they don’t go on to have long-term issues. I’m not that worried about them.
“Nonetheless, if they were to have an antibody test and it’s positive, that should be flagged up in the patient’s notes in case we find a syndrome in the future related to having encountered the virus.
“My best advice is we must have good records of data for potential Covid-19 syndrome. At the moment our test and trace system is as good as it can be but it could be better. One thing it must do is timely notification of GPs that your patient had coronavirus.
“Once we have those records, we are in a safer place – follow them up longterm to see if they develop any conditions. We are concerned about several organs, and need some system in place to record whether they have been exposed and look out for damage.”
‘We need some system in place to record whether they have been exposed and look out for damage’