Long COVID-19 Syndrome: Multiorgan Damage and Recommendations for Follow-Up and Rehabilitation

Abstract

The majority of the SARS-CoV-2 infected patients fully recover within a few weeks. However, a significant proportion of them, independently of their age, still have multi-organ damage, similar to that during the acute phase of infection, or symptoms for a longer term afte r recovery. “Postacute-COVID-19 (Long COVID-19 Syndrome)” is a term used for COVID-19 patients who are still symptomatic 4 and 12 weeks after the onset of acute symptoms and “Post-COVID-19-syndrome” ‒ for those with symptoms for longer than 12 weeks after the onset of acute symptoms. The severity of the initial infection does not correlate with the probability for and with the severity of long-term symptoms. This review comments on the multiorgan effects of Long COVID-19 Syndrome: respiratory, cardiovascular, hematological, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, and metabolic ones. Recommendations for follow-up and rehabilitation for the recovery of Long COVID-19 Syndrome patients are discussed in detail.