Isolate before op but it’s VITAL you keep exercising

PATIENTS isolating prior to surgery to cut their Covid risk should stay active, as a study found isolating was linked to a 20 per cent rise in post-op lung problems.

Those who isolated for eight days or more before an op had the highest risk (31 per cent), reports the journal Anaesthesia.

Doctors said the finding, based on data from 96,000 patients at 1,600 hospitals worldwide, could be due to patients not exercising. Being fit aids recovery.

Aneel Bhangu, a University of Birmingham surgeon and the study lead author, said: ‘Isolation may mean patients reduce physical activity, have worse nutritional habits and suffer higher levels of anxiety and depression.’