Abstract
Long COVID-19 may be defined as patients who, four weeks after the diagnosis of SARS-Cov-2 infection, continue to have signs and symptoms not explainable by other causes. The estimated frequency is around 10% and signs and symptoms may last for months. The main long-term manifestations observed in other coronaviruses (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)) are very similar to and have clear clinical parallels with SARS-CoV-2: mainly respiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuropsychiatric. The growing number of patients worldwide will have an impact on health systems. Therefore, the main objective of these clinical practice guidelines is to identify patients with signs and symptoms of long COVID-19 in primary care through a protocolized diagnostic process that studies possible etiologies and establishes an accurate differential diagnosis. The guidelines have been developed pragmatically by compiling the few studies published so far on long COVID-19, editorials and expert opinions, press releases, and the authors’ clinical experience. Patients with long COVID-19 should be managed using structured primary care visits based on the time from diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on the current limited evidence, disease management of long COVID-19 signs and symptoms will require a holistic, longitudinal follow up in primary care, multidisciplinary rehabilitation services, and the empowerment of affected patient groups.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans after the identification, in this century, of SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) viruses
The clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) focuses on patients with long COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization, whose diagnosis and follow-up has been made in primary care
Long-term manifestations are increasingly recognized in COVID-19 patients, with systemic clinical presentations affecting a wide range of organs and systems
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans after the identification, in this century, of SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) viruses. The lack of pre-virus immunity has led to an exponential increase in infected patients worldwide and the pandemic is one of the biggest health challenges facing humanity in the last 100 years [1,2]. The rapid and unpredictable worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2, with most infected people having no or only mild signs and symptoms, appears to have initially been related to cases imported from the first countries affected [3]. The abnormal persistence of signs and symptoms for >4 weeks after the resolution of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been little studied, and there are no studies in primary care, where most COVID-19 diagnoses are made. The objective of this document was to develop primary care clinical guidelines for patients with long COVID-19 signs and symptoms to enable primary care professionals to address the health consequences that go beyond acute SARS-CoV-2 infection
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
