Clinical standards for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease

D. Visca, R. Centis, E. Pontali, E. Zampogna, A. M. Russell, G. B. Migliori*, C. Andrejak, M. Aro, H. Bayram, K. Berkani, J. Bruchfeld, J. M. Chakaya, J. Chorostowska-Wynimko, B. Crestani, M. P. Dalcolmo, L. D’Ambrosio, A. T. Dinh-Xuan, S. Duong-Quy, C. Fernandes, J. M. García-GarcíaA. de Melo Kawassaki, L. Carrozzi, M. A. Martinez-Garcia, P. Carreiro Martins, M. Mirsaeidi, Y. Mohammad, R. N. Naidoo, N. Neuparth, L. Sese, D. R. Silva, I. Solovic, T. M. Sooronbaev, A. Spanevello, N. Sverzellati, L. Tanno, S. Tiberi, T. Vasankari, E. Vasarmidi, M. Vitacca, I. Annesi-Maesano

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on ‘best practice’ care for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease.

METHODS: A panel of international experts representing scientific societies, associations and groups active in post-COVID-19 lung disease was identified; 45 completed a Delphi process. A 5-point Likert scale indicated level of agreement with the draft standards. The final version was approved by consensus (with 100% agreement).

RESULTS: Four clinical standards were agreed for patients with a previous history of COVID-19: Standard 1, Patients with sequelae not explained by an alternative diagnosis should be evaluated for possible post-COVID-19 lung disease; Standard 2, Patients with lung function impairment, reduced exercise tolerance, reduced quality of life (QoL) or other relevant signs or ongoing symptoms ≥4 weeks after the onset of first symptoms should be evaluated for treatment and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR); Standard 3, The PR programme should be based on feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness criteria, organised according to local health services and tailored to an individual patient’s needs; and Standard 4, Each patient undergoing and completing PR should be evaluated to determine its effectiveness and have access to a counselling/health education session.

CONCLUSION: This is the first consensus-based set of clinical standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease. Our aim is to improve patient care and QoL by guiding clinicians, programme managers and public health officers in planning and implementing a PR programme to manage post-COVID-19 lung disease.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)729-741
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
Volume27
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is sponsored by the Oskar-Helene-Heim Foundation (OHH; Berlin, Germany) and the Gunther € Labes Foundation (Berlin, Germany) and available as an Open Access article (subject to CC-BY 4.0 licensing rules). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is part of the scientific activities of the GTN network and partially funded by Ricerca corrente, Ministero della Salute, Rome, Italy.

Publisher Copyright:
2023 The Union.

Keywords

  • long COVID
  • post-COVID conditions
  • pulmonary rehabilitation
  • quality of life
  • SARS-COV-2

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Clinical standards for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this