A Practical Approach to Tailor the Term Long COVID for Diagnostics, Therapy and Epidemiological Research for Improved Long COVID Patient Care.
Kathryn HoffmannMichael StinglLiam O'MahonyEva UntersmayrPublished in: Infectious diseases and therapy (2024)
The term long COVID (LC) effectively describes the broad long-term disease burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, encompassing individual suffering and significant socioeconomic impacts. However, its general use hampers precise epidemiological research, diagnostics and therapeutic strategies. Misinterpretations occur, for example, when population surveys are compared to studies using health record data, because both refer to these data as LC. This also emphasizes the need for different terminology. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rapid guideline differentiates ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 from post-COVID conditions, yet real-world observations challenge these two subgroup definitions. We propose refining the term LC into three subgroups: ongoing symptomatic COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 induced or exacerbated diseases and post-acute COVID condition. This stratification aids targeted diagnostics, treatment and epidemiological research. Subgroup-specific documentation using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes ensures accurate tracking and understanding of long-term effects. The subgroup of post-acute COVID condition again includes various symptoms, syndromes and diseases like post-exertional malaise (PEM), dysautonomia or cognitive dysfunctions. In this regard, differentiation, especially considering PEM, is crucial for effective diagnostics and treatment.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- coronavirus disease
- healthcare
- public health
- mental health
- machine learning
- preterm infants
- quality improvement
- gestational age
- cross sectional
- liver failure
- clinical trial
- mesenchymal stem cells
- deep learning
- risk assessment
- open label
- chronic pain
- pain management
- palliative care
- high glucose
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- drug induced
- risk factors
- big data
- climate change
- endothelial cells
- study protocol
- artificial intelligence
- quantum dots
- loop mediated isothermal amplification
- cancer therapy