Minute after standing, the man’s legs began to redden and became increasingly blue over time, with veins becoming more prominent, the study from the University of Leeds UK said. It later added that, after ten minutes of standing, the color was noted to become much more profound and the patient also reported feeling heavy and itching in his legs. However, his original colour was observed to return two minutes after he resumed a non-standing position. 

The researchers said in the study that the patient started to experience the discolouration since his COVID-19 infection.

As per Manoj Sivan, the study’s author and associate clinical professor at the university’s School of Medicine said, “This was a striking case of acrocyanosis in a patient who had not experienced it before his COVID-19 infection.”

He was then diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). This is a condition causing an abnormal increase in heart rate upon standing.

Long COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the occurrence of new, returning, or ongoing health problems 4 or more weeks after an initial infection with COVID-19. It is also known by other names, including post-acute COVID, post-COVID conditions, and chronic COVID.

The symptoms of Long Covid vary from person to person. Long Covid includes symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, depression and anxiety among others, heavily impacting the patients’ ability to perform daily activities and their quality of life. Some cases has been found to be worse than that of advanced cancer patients.

Long Covid has been shown to affect multiple systems in the body, including the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for regulating involuntary processes in the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal.

Coming back to the study, Acrocyanosis has previously been observed in children with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia), a common symptom of post-viral syndromes.

“Patients experiencing this may not be aware that it can be a symptom of long Covid and dysautonomia and may feel concerned about what they are seeing. Similarly, clinicians may not be aware of the link between acrocyanosis and long Covid,” Sivan said.

Previous research by Sivan’s team has shown that both dysautonomia and POTS frequently develop in people with Long Covid.

Dysautonomia is also seen in a number of other long-term conditions such as Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME, both of which affect muscles and cause pain.

The researchers said that the patient’s case highlighted the need for greater awareness of this symptom among people experiencing this condition. “We need to ensure that there is more awareness of dysautonomia in long Covid so that clinicians have the tools they need to manage patients appropriately,” said Sivan.

(With inputs from PTI)

Updated: 12 Aug 2023, 01:56 PM IST