European Respiratory Society statement on long COVID follow-up

Katerina M. Antoniou*, Eirini Vasarmidi, Anne Marie Russell, Claire Andrejak, Bruno Crestani, Marion Delcroix, Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan, Venerino Poletti, Nicola Sverzellati, Michele Vitacca, Martin Witzenrath, Thomy Tonia, Antonio Spanevello

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection frequently experience symptom burden post-acute infection or post-hospitalisation. We aimed to identify optimal strategies for follow-up care that may positively impact the patient’s quality of life (QoL). A European Respiratory Society (ERS) Task Force convened and prioritised eight clinical questions. A targeted search of the literature defined the timeline of “long COVID” as 1–6 months post-infection and identified clinical evidence in the follow-up of patients. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria report an association of characteristics of acute infection with persistent symptoms, thromboembolic events in the follow-up period, and evaluations of pulmonary physiology and imaging. Importantly, this statement reviews QoL consequences, symptom burden, disability and home care follow-up. Overall, the evidence for follow-up care for patients with long COVID is limited.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2102174
Number of pages20
JournalEuropean Respiratory Journal
Volume60
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding support was provided by the European Respiratory Society (TF-2020-14). A-M. Russell is a NIHR 70@70 Senior Research Fellow. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Dept of Health and Social Care. Funding information for this article has been deposited with the Crossref Funder Registry.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The authors 2022.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

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