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Updated: Oct 19, 2025
Lung CT Segmentation to Identify Consolidations and Ground Glass Areas for Quantitative Assesment of SARS-CoV Pneumonia
Published on: December 19, 2020
[Long COVID: long-term symptoms and morphological/radiological correlates]
Majda M Thurnher1, Wolfgang Reith2, Alexander P Thurnher3
1Universitätsklinik für Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin, Allgemeines Krankenhaus Wien, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Wien, Österreich. Majda.thurnher@meduniwien.ac.at.
Background:
Neurologic, pulmonary, cardiac and gastrointestinal functional disorders can persist in the post-acute phase and constitute a long COVID syndrome, also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV‑2 infection (PASC). Some patients develop persistent and debilitating symptoms despite a relatively mild illness at onset and they are known as COVID-19 long haulers.
Objective:
Presentation of symptoms, signs and biomarkers present in patients previously affected by COVID-19 and discussion of possible underlying mechanisms and consequences.
Methods:
Existing literature and reported cases as well as expert opinions are analyzed and discussed.
Results:
Long COVID affects survivors of COVID-19 at all levels of disease severity, even in mild to moderate cases and younger adults who did not require respiratory support, hospitalization or intensive care. A challenging aspect is that many long haulers never had laboratory confirmation of COVID-19, raising skepticism that the persistent symptoms have a physiological basis. On the other hand, some symptoms seen in post-acute COVID-19 may occur as a consequence of critical illness or as a side effect of treatment.
Conclusion:
Given that COVID-19 is a new disease, it is not possible to determine how long these effects will last. Long-term monitoring of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms and screening for frequent comorbid conditions are essential.
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