Recent Advancements on Long COVID in China: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge public health crisis in the 21st century. In addition to the acute symptoms, a considerable proportion of patients worldwide have suffered from post-COVID-19 syndrome, commonly known as Long COVID. The impact of Long COVID on individual and public health burden cannot be ignored. According to recent researches, Long COVID has been affecting multiple organ systems throughout the body, with respiratory, mental, nervous and digestive symptoms often seen in Chinese population. Clinical studies have proved that symptoms were alleviated by a variety of treatments, such as physical therapy, rehabilitation training, psychological support, behavioral cognitive therapy, stem cell therapy, etc. Based on the current clinical evidence, it is recommended to strengthen the scientific research on Long COVID and actively carry out early monitoring and intervention in the future, so as to effectively prevent the long-term disease burden and economic pressure.

Impact of Symptomatology, Clinical and Radiological Severity of COVID-19 on Pulmonary Function Test Results and Functional Capacity during Follow-Up among Survivors

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has left its mark on the functioning of the entire global healthcare system. Apart from the organizational difficulties caused by the huge inflow of patients requiring immediate hospital care, an additional burden is the long-term consequences of the infection [ 19 , 20 , 25 ]. These complications can affect various systems; however, due to the tropism of the virus for pulmonary cells, one of the most common is the impairment of respiratory function that is observed in convalescents [ 27 , 34 ].…”

“…Currently, with the most intense phase of the pandemic over, the focus should be placed on the long-term consequences of COVID-19. These may persist for many months and involve multiple organs belonging to different systems, affecting patients in different age groups and with a different severity of symptoms during the acute phase of the disease [ 9 , 24 , 25 ]. The presence of symptoms lasting more than 12 weeks after the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection, that cannot be otherwise explained, was named post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) [ 24 ].…”

“…Symptoms persisting for such a long period may have a significant impact on the health and everyday functioning of the convalescents. Considering the large number of patients who have experienced pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 in recent years, PACS symptoms may be a challenge and a burden for health systems in many countries [ 25 ].…”

“…According to recently published studies, the most common symptoms that persist after COVID-19 include general weakness, shortness of breath and cough. Relatively often, patients also report memory and concentration difficulties and palpitations [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

The impact of social distancing measures (quarantine) policy on tertiary education and medical consultations in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Furthermore, cases of long COVID-19 persist both in China ( 17 ) and internationally ( 18 , 19 ). In addition to immediate symptoms, a significant number of patients experience post-COVID-19 syndrome, commonly known as long COVID ( 20 ).…”