![]() ![]() ![]() The databases used to identify the studies were LitCOVID 7, which includes all COVID articles in PubMed and Medline) and Embase. Therefore, our study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies to estimate the prevalence of all the symptoms, signs, or abnormal laboratory parameters extending beyond the acute phase of COVID-19 reported to date. However, a broad overview of all the possible longstanding effects of COVID-19 is still needed. ![]() In parallel, hundreds of scientific publications, including cohorts studying specific effects of the disease and lists of case reports, have been described 6. Since first reported, there has been a vast amount of social media patient groups, polls, comments, and scientific articles aiming to describe the chronicity of COVID-19. However, it has not yet been established how sex, gender, age, ethnicity, underlying health conditions, viral dose, or progression of COVID-19 significantly affect the risk of developing long-term effects of COVID-19 5. Although such alteration is mainly reported in severe and critical disease survivors, the lasting effects also occur in individuals with a mild infection who did not require hospitalization 4. Symptoms, signs, or abnormal clinical parameters persisting two or more weeks after COVID-19 onset that do not return to a healthy baseline can potentially be considered long-term effects of the disease 3. Most recently, the term “post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection” (PASC), “long-COVID-19”, and “post-acute COVID-19”, has been utilized 2. Different authors have used several terms to describe prolonged symptoms following COVID-19 illness, such as “Long COVID-19”, “post-acute COVID-19”, “persistent COVID-19 symptoms”, “chronic COVID-19”, “post-COVID-19 manifestations”, “long-term COVID-19 effects”, “post COVID-19 syndrome”, “ongoing COVID-19”, “long-term sequelae”, or “long-haulers” as synonyms. The terminology has been confusing and not standardized. Although unprecedented efforts from the scientific and medical community have been directed to sequence, diagnose, treat, and prevent COVID-19, individuals' lasting effects after the acute phase of the disease are yet to be revealed. Since then, more than 175 million people worldwide have been infected after a year, and over 3.8 million people have died from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 1. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in China in December 2019. Multi-disciplinary teams are crucial to developing preventive measures, rehabilitation techniques, and clinical management strategies with whole-patient perspectives designed to address long COVID-19 care. The five most common symptoms were fatigue (58%), headache (44%), attention disorder (27%), hair loss (25%), and dyspnea (24%). It was estimated that 80% of the infected patients with SARS-CoV-2 developed one or more long-term symptoms. The included studies defined long-COVID as ranging from 14 to 110 days post-viral infection. The prevalence of 55 long-term effects was estimated, 21 meta-analyses were performed, and 47,910 patients were included (age 17–87 years). A total of 18,251 publications were identified, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. For effects reported in two or more studies, meta-analyses using a random-effects model were performed using the MetaXL software to estimate the pooled prevalence with 95% CI. LitCOVID and Embase were searched to identify articles with original data published before the 1st of January 2021, with a minimum of 100 patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify studies assessing the long-term effects of COVID-19. COVID-19 can involve persistence, sequelae, and other medical complications that last weeks to months after initial recovery. ![]()
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