Post-COVID-19 syndrome

Low urgency
CommonModerately severe

The incidence of patients having symptoms after an acute phase of COVID-19 infection is very high (20-90%).

The cause of post-COVID-19 history fractors is unknown, but we have evidence that proves that there is a high incidency in patients who have had a severe COVID-19 infection that made them to be admiitted into the ICU.

Symptoms vary but the main ones are tiredness, headache and shortness of breath. Other common symptoms include coughing, hair loss, loss of concentration and memory, loss of taste, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, joint pain, etc.

Diagnosis is clinical, based on the history of COVID-19 infection and symptoms appearing from the third week of acute infection.

Treatment involves the collaboration of several specialists in order to apply therapeutic, rehabilitative and individualised care plans that facilitate the integral care of the patient in order to improve their quality of life.

Bibliographic references
  1. Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A’Court C, Buxton M, Husain L. Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care. Bmj. 2020;370:m3026. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3026
  2. Greenhalgh T, Knight M. Long COVID: A Primer for Family Physicians. Am Fam Physician. 2020;102(12):716-7. PMID: 33320511
  3. (NIHR). NIoHR. Living with Covid-19. A dynamic rewiew of evidence around ongoing covid-19 symptoms (often called long Covid). https://evidencenihracuk/themedreview/living-with-covid19. 2020. DOI: 10.3310/themedreview_41169
  4. Islam MF, Cotler J, Jason LA. Post-viral fatigue and COVID-19: lessons from past epidemics. Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior. 2020;8:2:61-9. DOI: 10.1080/21641846.2020.1778227
  5. Lam MH, Wing YK, Yu MW, Leung CM, Ma RC, Kong AP, et al. Mental morbidities and chronic fatigue in severe acute respiratory syndrome survivors: long-term follow-up. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(22):2142-7. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.384
  6. Dennis A, Wamil M, Kapur S, et al. Multi-organ impairment in lowrisk individuals with long COVID. . medRxiv.DOI: https://doi.org/10. 1101/2020.10.14.20212555. 
  7. Long COVID: let patients help define long-lasting COVID symptoms. Nature. 2020;586(7828):170. DOI: 10.1038/d41586- 020-02796-2
  8.  Emilio Bouza, Rafael Cantón Moreno, et al. Síndrome post-COVID: Un documento de reflexión y opinión. Revista Española de Quimioterapia doi:10.37201/req/023.2021 - Advance Access published April 20, 2021.
Copyright
© TeckelMedical 2026

Symptoms

    Tiredness / fatigue


    Short of breath


    Headache


    Loss of sense of taste


    Hair loss in a specific area

Symptoms to watch out for

Difficulty breathing
Thoracic pain
Loss of sensitivity and/or motility in limbs
Excessive sudoration
Blurry vision

Self-care

Consume over-the-counter pain relievers or anti-inflammatories.
Maintain a balanced diet: increase fruit, vegetable, and white meat consumption and reduce the intake of fatty meals and fritters.
Engage in regular physical activity, adapted to age and physical condition, at least 3 times a week.
Reduce situations that produce psychological stress.