As COVID-19 continues to spread, with the United States surpassing 29 million cases, health care workers are beginning to see patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 return seeking treatment for its longer-term physical and mental effects. The term long-haulers is used to identify patients who have not fully recovered from the illness after weeks or months. Although the acute symptoms of COVID-19 have been widely described, the longer-term effects are less well known because of the relatively short history of the pandemic. Symptoms may be due to persistent chronic inflammation (eg, fatigue), sequelae of organ damage (eg, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic kidney disease), and hospitalization and social isolation (eg, muscle wasting, malnutrition). Health care providers are instrumental in developing a comprehensive plan for identifying and managing post–COVID-19 complications. This article addresses the possible etiology of postviral syndromes and describes reported symptoms and suggested management of post-COVID syndrome.
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Summer 2021
Symposium: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19: Now and for the Future|
June 15 2021
Post–COVID-19 Syndrome: Theoretical Basis, Identification, and Management
Kristine Anne Scordo, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP;
Kristine Anne Scordo, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP
Kristine Anne Scordo is Professor Emeritus, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Infectious Diseases, TriHealth,10506A Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45242 ([email protected]).
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Misty M. Richmond, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC;
Misty M. Richmond, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Misty M. Richmond is Assistant Professor, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
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Nancy Munro, MS, APRN, ACNP, FAANP
Nancy Munro, MS, APRN, ACNP, FAANP
Nancy Munro is Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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AACN Adv Crit Care (2021) 32 (2): 188–194.
Citation
Kristine Anne Scordo, Misty M. Richmond, Nancy Munro; Post–COVID-19 Syndrome: Theoretical Basis, Identification, and Management. AACN Adv Crit Care 15 June 2021; 32 (2): 188–194. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/aacnacc2021492
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