Long COVID: An Overview

Overview

Journal Diabetes Metab Syndr

Specialty Endocrinology

Date 2021 Apr 23

PMID 33892403

Citations 306

Authors

A V Raveendran

Rajeev Jayadevan

S Sashidharan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background And Aims: Long COVID is the collective term to denote persistence of symptoms in those who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: WE searched the pubmed and scopus databases for original articles and reviews. Based on the search result, in this review article we are analyzing various aspects of Long COVID.

Results: Fatigue, cough, chest tightness, breathlessness, palpitations, myalgia and difficulty to focus are symptoms reported in long COVID. It could be related to organ damage, post viral syndrome, post-critical care syndrome and others. Clinical evaluation should focus on identifying the pathophysiology, followed by appropriate remedial measures. In people with symptoms suggestive of long COVID but without known history of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, serology may help confirm the diagnosis.

Conclusions: This review will helps the clinicians to manage various aspects of Long COVID.

Citing Articles

Weigel B, Inderyas M, Eaton-Fitch N, Thapaliya K, Marshall-Gradisnik S J Transl Med. 2025; 23(1):318.

PMID: 40075382 PMC: 11905571. DOI: 10.1186/s12967-025-06131-z.

Post-COVID-19 functional status in socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods attended in primary health care in two Brazilian cities: a cross-sectional study.

de Medeiros D, Amorim G, Soares F, Magno L, Rossi T, Torres T BMC Infect Dis. 2025; 25(1):347.

PMID: 40075295 PMC: 11905649. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-025-10729-5.

Spatial transcriptomics of the epipharynx in long COVID identifies SARS-CoV-2 signalling pathways and the therapeutic potential of epipharyngeal abrasive therapy.

Nishi K, Yoshimoto S, Tanaka T, Kimura S, Tsunoda T, Watanabe A Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):8618.

PMID: 40074801 PMC: 11903674. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92908-7.

Sensory Insights in Aging: Exploring the Impact on Improving Dietary Through Sensory Enhancement.

Li Y, Wang S, Zhang L, Dong Q, Hu X, Yang Y Food Sci Nutr. 2025; 13(3):e70074.

PMID: 40041711 PMC: 11876084. DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.70074.

Mapping of long COVID condition in India: a study protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jain N, Shah K, Chauhan R, Gupta A, Arora P, Saxena D Front Rehabil Sci. 2025; 6:1419963.

PMID: 40018652 PMC: 11865057. DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2025.1419963.

References

Greenhalgh T, Knight M, ACourt C, Buxton M, Husain L . Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care. BMJ. 2020; 370:m3026. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3026. View

Townsend L, Dyer A, Jones K, Dunne J, Mooney A, Gaffney F . Persistent fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and independent of severity of initial infection. PLoS One. 2020; 15(11):e0240784. PMC: 7652254. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240784. View

Lu Y, Li X, Geng D, Mei N, Wu P, Huang C . Cerebral Micro-Structural Changes in COVID-19 Patients - An MRI-based 3-month Follow-up Study. EClinicalMedicine. 2020; 25:100484. PMC: 7396952. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100484. View

Becker R . Toward understanding the 2019 Coronavirus and its impact on the heart. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2020; 50(1):33-42. PMC: 7156795. DOI: 10.1007/s11239-020-02107-6. View

Colafrancesco S, Alessandri C, Conti F, Priori R . COVID-19 gone bad: A new character in the spectrum of the hyperferritinemic syndrome?. Autoimmun Rev. 2020; 19(7):102573. PMC: 7199723. DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2020.102573. View

Varatharaj A, Thomas N, Ellul M, Davies N, Pollak T, Tenorio E . Neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of COVID-19 in 153 patients: a UK-wide surveillance study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020; 7(10):875-882. PMC: 7316461. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30287-X. View

Van Elslande J, Vermeersch P, Vandervoort K, Wawina-Bokalanga T, Vanmechelen B, Wollants E . Symptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Reinfection by a Phylogenetically Distinct Strain. Clin Infect Dis. 2020; 73(2):354-356. PMC: 7499557. DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1330. View

Chandrashekara S, Jaladhar P, Paramshetti S, Ramachandran V, Nizar S, Kori D . Post COVID Inflammation Syndrome: Different Manifestations Caused by the Virus. J Assoc Physicians India. 2020; 68(12):33-34. View

Tenforde M, Kim S, Lindsell C, Rose E, Shapiro N, Files D . Symptom Duration and Risk Factors for Delayed Return to Usual Health Among Outpatients with COVID-19 in a Multistate Health Care Systems Network - United States, March-June 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020; 69(30):993-998. PMC: 7392393. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6930e1. View

10.

Wu Z, McGoogan J . Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020; 323(13):1239-1242. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.2648. View

11.

Fraser E . Long term respiratory complications of covid-19. BMJ. 2020; 370:m3001. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3001. View

12.

Galvan Casas C, Catala A, Carretero Hernandez G, Rodriguez-Jimenez P, Fernandez-Nieto D, Rodriguez-Villa Lario A . Classification of the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19: a rapid prospective nationwide consensus study in Spain with 375 cases. Br J Dermatol. 2020; 183(1):71-77. PMC: 7267236. DOI: 10.1111/bjd.19163. View

13.

Biehl M, Sese D . Post-intensive care syndrome and COVID-19 - Implications post pandemic. Cleve Clin J Med. 2020; . DOI: 10.3949/ccjm.87a.ccc055. View

14.

Raveendran A . Long COVID-19: Challenges in the diagnosis and proposed diagnostic criteria. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020; 15(1):145-146. PMC: 7737559. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.12.025. View

15.

Carfi A, Bernabei R, Landi F . Persistent Symptoms in Patients After Acute COVID-19. JAMA. 2020; 324(6):603-605. PMC: 7349096. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.12603. View

16.

Sudre C, Lee K, Ni Lochlainn M, Varsavsky T, Murray B, Graham M . Symptom clusters in COVID-19: A potential clinical prediction tool from the COVID Symptom Study app. Sci Adv. 2021; 7(12). PMC: 7978420. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd4177. View

17.

Raghu G, Wilson K . COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia: monitoring the clinical course in survivors. Lancet Respir Med. 2020; 8(9):839-842. PMC: 7398671. DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30349-0. View

18.

Moriguchi T, Harii N, Goto J, Harada D, Sugawara H, Takamino J . A first case of meningitis/encephalitis associated with SARS-Coronavirus-2. Int J Infect Dis. 2020; 94:55-58. PMC: 7195378. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.062. View

19.

Forte G, Favieri F, Tambelli R, Casagrande M . COVID-19 Pandemic in the Italian Population: Validation of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire and Prevalence of PTSD Symptomatology. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(11). PMC: 7312976. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17114151. View

20.

Mucha S, Dugar S, McCrae K, Joseph D, Bartholomew J, Sacha G . Coagulopathy in COVID-19: Manifestations and management. Cleve Clin J Med. 2020; 87(8):461-468. DOI: 10.3949/ccjm.87a.ccc024. View