Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: Theoretical Basis, Identification, and Management

As COVID-19 continues to spread, with the United States surpassing 29 million cases, health care workers are beginning to see patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 return seeking treatment for its longer-term physical and mental effects. The term long-haulers is used to identify patients who have not fully recovered from the illness after weeks or months. Although the acute symptoms of COVID-19 have been widely described, the longer-term effects are less well known because of the relatively short history of the pandemic. Symptoms may be due to persistent chronic inflammation (eg, fatigue), sequelae of organ damage (eg, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic kidney disease), and hospitalization and social isolation (eg, muscle wasting, malnutrition). Health care providers are instrumental in developing a comprehensive plan for identifying and managing post-COVID-19 complications. This article addresses the possible etiology of postviral syndromes and describes reported symptoms and suggested management of post-COVID syndrome.