A substantial proportion of persons who develop COVID-19 experience postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). This article reports baseline findings from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study that seeks to characterize the risk factors, clinical findings, laboratory features, and natural history of PASC. The accompanying editorial discusses the need for research to help us understand this condition and the importance of not allowing objective testing to overshadow patient experience as we gain a better understanding of PASC.
Use this article and the editorial to:
- Watch all or part of the 24 May 2022 Annals/ACP COVID-19 forum, which begins with Dr. Clifford Lane, one of the study authors, giving a summary of the study and its findings.
- Have you encountered patients reporting persisting symptoms after recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection? What symptoms do patients report?
- Determine whether there is a “post-COVID” clinic site at your institution or in the surrounding area and ask what approach they use when caring for patients with persisting symptoms after COVID-19.
- Review some typical cases (there are 3 in the forum mentioned above), and determine best management given what we know about persisting symptoms after COVID-19.
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.