Short- and potential long-term adverse health outcomes of COVID-19: a rapid review

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in millions of patients infected worldwide and indirectly affecting even more individuals through disruption of daily living. Long-term adverse outcomes have been reported with similar diseases from other coronaviruses, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects different systems in the human body. This review summarizes the current evidence on the short-term adverse health outcomes and assesses the risk of potential long-term adverse outcomes of COVID-19. Major adverse outcomes were found to affect different body systems: immune system (including but not limited to Guillain-Barré syndrome and paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome), respiratory system (lung fibrosis and pulmonary thromboembolism), cardiovascular system (cardiomyopathy and coagulopathy), neurological system (sensory dysfunction and stroke), as well as cutaneous and gastrointestinal manifestations, impaired hepatic and renal function. Mental health in patients with COVID-19 was also found to be adversely affected. The burden of caring for COVID-19 survivors is likely to be huge. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to develop comprehensive strategies in providing resources and capacity in the healthcare system. Future epidemiological studies are needed to further investigate the long-term impact on COVID-19 survivors.

Association between influenza vaccination and hospitalisation or all-cause mortality in people with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study

“…2 Older adults and those with underlying heath conditions are particularly susceptible to severe outcomes; however, recent evidence suggests that even mild COVID-19 may result in prolonged symptoms and/or long-term adverse health outcomes. 3 The pandemic has carried a substantial economic burden globally, 4 and several countries have experienced unprecedented rise in demand on healthcare systems far exceeding capacity to respond. 5 There remain limited effective interventions to treat COVID-19.…”

Post-COVID-19 Fatigue: Potential Contributing Factors

“…Li et al [ 32 ] showed an association between reduced insulin sensitivity and lower ACE2 that might be of high interest. Hyperglycemia is commonly noticed in COVID-19 disease [ 40 ] and poorly controlled glucose metabolism increases the seriousness and mortality in diabetic patients with COVID-19 [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. With fatigue presenting as a common symptom of both diabetes and COVID-19, having both may exacerbate the occurrence of fatigue and lead to poorer long-term outcomes.…”

Outcome of SARS-COV-2-Related Thyrotoxicosis in Survivors of COVID-19: A Prospective Study

“…However, the clinical relevance of thyrotoxicosis associated with SARS-CoV2 infection is still controversial [3,14,15,4] and data on the outcome of thyroid function after remission of COVID-19 are scanty [14]. Speci cally, it is still unknown whether thyroid gland may be persistently damaged by SARS-CoV2, such as demonstrated for other tissues and organs in individuals with COVID-19 [16].…”