Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jan:123 Suppl 1:S61-S69.
doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2023.03.022. Epub 2023 Apr 13.

Long COVID and rehabilitation

Hung-Jui Chuang  1 , Chia-Wei Lin  1 , Ming-Yen Hsiao  1 , Tyng-Guey Wang  1 , Huey-Wen Liang  2
Affiliations
Review

Long COVID and rehabilitation

Hung-Jui Chuang et al. J Formos Med Assoc. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. The large number of post-COVID survivors has drawn attention to the management of post-COVID condition, known as long COVID. This review examines current knowledge of long COVID, regarding its epidemiology, mechanism, and clinical presentations in both adults and children. We also review the rehabilitation principles, modules, and effects, and share Taiwan's efforts to provide a top-down, nationwide care framework for long COVID patients. Dyspnea, chronic cough, and fatigue are the most commonly reported symptoms in the first 6 months after infection, but cognitive impairment and psychological symptoms may persist beyond this time. Several possible mechanisms behind these symptoms were proposed, but remained unconfirmed. These symptoms negatively impact individuals' function, activities, participation and quality of life. Rehabilitation is a key element of management to achieve functional improvement. Early management should start with comprehensive evaluation and identification of red flags. Exercise-based therapy, an essential part of management of long COVID, can be conducted with different modules, including telerehabilitation. Post-exertional symptom exacerbation and orthostatic hypotension should be carefully monitored during exercise. Randomized control trials with a large sample size are needed to determine the optimal timing, dosage, and modules.

Keywords: Activities of daily living; COVID-19; Long COVID; Rehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Figure 1
A multidisciplinary team approach to the rehabilitation of long COVID patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dong E., Du H., Gardner L. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(5):533–534. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang C., Huang L., Wang Y., Li X., Ren L., Gu X., et al. 6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study. Lancet. 2021;397(10270):220–232. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tabacof L., Tosto-Mancuso J., Wood J., Cortes M., Kontorovich A., McCarthy D., et al. Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome negatively impacts physical function, cognitive function, health-related quality of life, and participation. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2022;101(1):48–52. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sandmann F.G., Tessier E., Lacy J., Kall M., Van Leeuwen E., Charlett A., et al. Long-term health-related quality of life in non-hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in England: longitudinal analysis and cross-sectional comparison with controls. Clin Infect Dis. 2022;75(1):e962–e973. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Soriano J.B., Murthy S., Marshall J.C., Relan P., Diaz J.V. Condition WHOCCDWGoP-C-. A clinical case definition of post-COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022;22(4):e102–e107. - PMC - PubMed