Long COVID: The long-term consequences of COVID-19 and the proposed pathophysiological mechanisms

Abstract

The new devastating pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) has been related to approximately 600 million cases and more than six million deaths till now. After recovery from COVID-19, some patients develop long-term sequelae called long COVID (LC). LC cases have been reported with multi-system involvement, with the most common being neuro-psychiatric, cardiorespiratory, hematological, and gastrointestinal systems highlighting the need for multidisciplinary team involvement and treatment. Since we are more than two and half years into this pandemic, we have more understanding of the pathophysiology and successful treatment of acute COVID-19, and we see more survivors and, subsequently, individuals with LC. However, the pathogenic mechanisms leading to LC are not clear till now. This review describes the potential pathogenic mechanisms leading to LC and common clinical manifestations reported from current evidence.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease 2019
• immune response
• postacute coronavirus disease 2019 syndrome
• postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019
• postcoronavirus disease 2019 condition
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2