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Asymptomatic patients 'should tell GP if they have Covid antibodies in case of long-term effects'

A doctor examines the lungs of a Covid-19 patient - Ernesto Benavides/AFP
A doctor examines the lungs of a Covid-19 patient - Ernesto Benavides/AFP

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, explained Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University Medical School.

Dr Pankhania said if doctors were 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" means the net needs to be cast wide.

"Asymptomatic people without symptoms then recover, they remain in the low-risk group," Dr Pankhania told The 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 long-term 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.

"Someone with a full-blown infection in the lungs would show reduced lung function or capacity - like recovering from pneumonic illness. Your lungs have had a kicking. We need to see if this resolves or not, and if it doesn't resolve what we can do about it.

"We may do a chest x-ray, listen to the chest and monitor it. I wouldn't want people to get x-rays unnecessarily, but if the signs and symptoms are not consistent with what I see and hear, I'll do an x-ray."