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Review
. 2022 Jan 1;322(1):C1-C11.
doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00375.2021. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Long-term complications of COVID-19

Amar D Desai  1 , Michael Lavelle  1 , Brian C Boursiquot  1 , Elaine Y Wan  1
Affiliations
Review

Long-term complications of COVID-19

Amar D Desai et al. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. .

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread across the globe and infected hundreds of millions of people worldwide. As our experience with this virus continues to grow, our understanding of both short-term and long-term complications of infection with SARS-CoV-2 continues to grow as well. Just as there is heterogeneity in the acute infectious phase, there is heterogeneity in the long-term complications seen following COVID-19 illness. The purpose of this review article is to present the current literature with regards to the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and proposed management algorithms for the various long-term sequelae that have been observed in each organ system following infection with SARS-CoV-2. We will also consider future directions, with regards to newer variants of the virus and their potential impact on the long-term complications observed.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; long COVID-19; post-COVID-19; sequelae.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic representation of long-term sequelae observed following COVID-19 infection. Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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