Updating Long COVID: Mechanisms, Risk Factors, and Treatment

Book excerpt: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to the worldwide outbreak of the twentieth century. Current knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 acute infection has dramatically increased. Three years after the main outbreak, the presence of long-lasting symptoms after the acute infection called long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome, affects millions of individuals worldwide. Increasing literature supports the presence of more than 100 potential symptoms after the acute phase of infection such as: · extreme fatigue, dizziness, and insomnia · depression and anxiety, memory and concentration impairments · loss of smell or taste, tinnitus, and earaches · chest pain, heart palpitations, tightness, muscle aches. However, several gaps still are present in the identification, timeframe, mechanisms, and treatment strategies for the management of long-COVID.