Long Term Health Sequelae of COVID-19: A Review

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th March, 2020. COVID-19 infection predominantly manifests as pulmonary symptoms that may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. The data on extra-pulmonary manifestations of acute COVID-19 are available. Most patients who have COVID-19 recover well within months. Currently, more than 50 million people have recovered globally. Many reports of patients with persistent severe symptoms and significant end-organ damage after SARS-CoV-2 infection have also been observed. As COVID-19 is a relatively new disease, future sequelae aren’t well established. Major adverse outcomes were found to affect different body systems: respiratory system (lung fibrosis and pulmonary thromboembolism), cardiovascular system (cardiomyopathy), and neurological system (sensory dysfunction and stroke). Mental health of COVID-19 patients were also found to be adversely affected. This review describes the effects of SARS-CoV-2 taking into account the previous experiences with SARS-CoV-2 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus that caused SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012 respectively. This review aims to update on the long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection and highlight the necessity for patient monitoring following the acute stage of infection with SARS-CoV-2 to provide ground for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of these potential long-term sequelae and to complete the natural history of COVID-19.