Long COVID clinical evaluation, research and impact on society: a global expert consensus
Andrew G. Ewing, David Joffe, Svetlana Blitshteyn, Anna E. S. Brooks, Julien Wist, Yaneer Bar‐Yam, Stéphane Bilodeau, Jennifer Curtin, Rae Duncan, Mark A. Faghy, Leo Galland, Etheresia Pretorius, Špela Šalamon, Danilo Buonsenso, Claire E. Hastie, Binita Kane, Asad Khan, Amos Lal, Dennis H. Lau, C. Raina MacIntyre, Sammie McFarland, Daniel Munblit, Jeremy K. Nicholson, Hanna M. Ollila, David Putrino, Alberto Rosario, Timothy C. Tan, The Long COVID consensus expert panel (Table S1), Lawrence B Afrin, Carlos Arturo, Nisreen Alwan, Sampath Kumar, Harashen Ashraf, Veronica Athie Morales, Philip Atkinson, Robert Axtell, Cipatli Ayuzo, Alba Azola, James Bagley, Sergio Bagnato, Amitava Banerjee, John Barry, Daniela Bassi-Dibai, Anne Bheréur, Gregory Bix, Jose-Ramon Blanco, Svetlana Blitshteyn, Hector Bonilla, Angela Bowers, Anna E.S. Brooks, Marie Bruyneel, Alexandra Brugler Yonts, Gunnar Bücker, Kathleen Capaccione, Harriet Carroll, Pascal Cathebras, Ashish Chaudhry, Bela Cheda, Karin Chia, Pratima Chowdary, Tae Hwan Chung, Leslie Conner, Caterina Conte, Caroline Dalton, Kara Darling, Helen Davies, Kate Davies, David Davies-Payne, Kevin Deans, Luis Orantes Del Carpio, Anne Doherty, Theresa Dowell, Raechel A Evans, Andrew Ewing, Emilia Liana Falcone, Bingwen Eugene Fan, Emily Fatakhov, Kelly Fearnley, Artur Fedorowski, Carlo Ferrarese, Francesco Ferraro, Gemma Figtree, Laurie Findlay, Alberto Fortini, Matteo Foschi, Francois Gagnon, Nick Gall, Natasha Gerbis, Gholamrezanezhad Ali, Amine Ghram, Andréa Lúcia da Silva Goncalves, Helen Goss, Stephanie Grach, Caroline Gregoire, Gary Groot, Riccardo Guanà, Eric Guedj, Merel Hellemons, Melanie Hoppers, Mohammad-Salar Hosseini
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Long COVID is a complex, heterogeneous syndrome affecting over four hundred million people globally. There are few recommendations, and no formal training exists for medical professionals to assist with clinical evaluation and management of patients with Long COVID. More research into the pathology, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of Long COVID, and treatments is needed. The goal of this work is to disseminate essential information about Long COVID and recommendations about definition, diagnosis, treatment, research and social issues to physicians, researchers, and policy makers to address this escalating global health crisis. METHODS: A 3-round modified Delphi consensus methodology was distributed internationally to 179 healthcare professionals, researchers, and persons with lived experience of Long COVID in 28 countries. Statements were combined into specific areas: definition, diagnosis, treatment, research, and society. RESULTS: The survey resulted in 187 comprehensive statements reaching consensus with the strongest areas being diagnosis and clinical assessment, and general research. We establish conditions for diagnosis of different subgroups within the Long COVID umbrella. Clear consensus was reached that the impacts of COVID-19 infection on children should be a research priority, and additionally on the need to determine the effects of Long COVID on societies and economies. The consensus on COVID and Long COVID is that it affects the nervous system and other organs and is not likely to be observed with initial symptoms. We note, biomarkers are critically needed to address these issues. CONCLUSIONS: This work forms initial guidance to address the spectrum of Long COVID as a disease and reinforces the need for translational research and large-scale treatment trials for treatment protocols.