Introduction
Introduction:
COVID-19 is a new rapidly spreading epidemic. The symptoms of this disease could be
diverse as the virus can affect any organ in the body of an infected person. This
study aimed to investigate the available evidence for long-term complications of COVID-19.
Methods:
This study was a systematic review of current evidence conducted in November 2020
to investigate probable late and long-term complications of COVID-19. We performed
a systematic search, using the keywords, in online databases including PubMed, Scopus,
Science Direct, Up to Date, and Web of Science, to find papers published from December
2019 to October 2020. Peer-reviewed original papers published in English, which met
the eligibility criteria were included in the final report. Addressing non-human studies,
unavailability of the full-text document, and duplicated results in databases, were
characteristics that led to exclusion of the papers from review.
Results:
The full-texts of 65 articles have been reviewed. We identified 10 potential late
complications of COVID-19. A review of studies showed that lung injuries (n=31), venous/arterial
thrombosis (n=28), heart injuries (n=26), cardiac/brain stroke (n=23), and neurological
injuries (n=20) are the most frequent late complications of COVID-19.
Conclusion:
Since we are still at the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is too soon to
predict what long-term complications are likely to appear in the survivors of the
disease in years after recovery. Furthermore, the complexity of COVID-19 behaviors
and targets in the human body creates uncertainty in anticipating long-term complications.
Introduction
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an extremely contagious infectious disease caused
by SARS-CoV-2 (1). COVID-19 infection was first reported in Wuhan, China, and spread quickly
and turned into an unprecedented global pandemic (2-5).
The novel coronavirus affects not only the respiratory tract, but also other organs
in the human body. COVID-19 could cause injuries in the lungs, liver, kidney, heart,
vessels, and other organs (6). Respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress
syndrome (ARDS) are the most common complications of severe COVID-19 infection; the
majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients suffer from severe lung injuries and fatal
multi-organ failure as well as hemolytic anemia. However; super infection, acute liver,
kidney, and cardiac injuries, shock, and hypoxic encephalopathy are less common symptoms
(7-9). Some COVID-19 patients may also present signs of tissue damage including rhabdomyolysis
or hemoptysis, which lead to cellular injury, release of heme proteins, and collection
of heme in body tissues (10).
SARS-CoV-2 usually affects the respiratory system (11), nervous system involvement
has also been reported in some recent studies among patients with COVID-19 (12). Coronaviruses
can attack the neural tissue including microglia, astrocytes, and macrophages, and
cause nerve injury through direct nerve infection (13). The nervous system injuries
could manifest as headache, dizziness, seizure, impaired consciousness, acute cerebrovascular
disease, and ataxia. The virus could also affect the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
and cause olfactory dysfunction, dysgeusia, vision impairment, and neuropathic pain
(12, 13).
COVID‐19 could also cause cardiac injuries such as cardiomyopathy and conduction system
malfunction. Studies suggest the direct involvement of cardiac muscles in some patients
(4, 14, 15). Generally, infectious myocarditis is the most common cardiac complication
of COVID-19 infection. SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)
receptors to infect host cells, through which it can cause pneumonia and myocardial
injuries. High expression of ACE2 receptors in the lungs and heart could increase
the risk of myocardial injuries in COVID‐19 patients (14). ACE2 is also expressed in
the intravascular endothelium, intestinal epithelium, and the kidneys; therefore,
these organs could be a target for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Tachyarrhythmia is also a
common cardiovascular complication in COVID-19 patients. Electrocardiography and echocardiography
could be used in diagnosing and predicting the prognosis in COVID-19 patients (16).
Some COVID-19 patients could suffer from earache that may be a sign of sub-acute thyroiditis.
Studies have shown that a few weeks after upper respiratory tract involvement, subacute
thyroiditis may occur and it might be a late complication in patients with COVID-19
infection. Therefore, thyroid functions should be checked after discharge in patients
with COVID-19 (17, 18). In addition, there is an abnormal rise in various biochemical
parameters such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), albumin levels, serum ferritin
levels, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in
the infected patients; on the other hand, the hemoglobin levels and lymphocyte count could
reduce in these patients. These complications could lead to cytokine storm, causing
multiple organ dysfunction (19, 20).
The coronavirus pandemic showed that COVID-19 could affect many organs besides the
lungs, like heart and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems.
There are several ways that the infection can affect someone’s health. Much is still
unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. While most patients infected
with COVID-19 recover quickly, the potential long-lasting problems caused by COVID-19 make
it necessary to look for and study its late complications. This review aims to present
a systematic review of late complications of COVID-19 and identify how prevalent these
symptoms are and who is most likely to be affected by them.
Methods
Study design and setting
This study was a systematic review of current evidence conducted in October 2020 and
subsequently updated on November 4, 2020. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist was employed.
Data sources
We performed a systematic search using the keywords in the online databases including
PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Up to Date, and Web of Science. All the related papers
and reports published in English from December 2019 through October 2020 were retrieved
and then updated in November 2020. Our search strategy in each of the above-mentioned
databases included several combinations of keywords in the following orders:
A. “Coronavirus” OR “COVID-19”OR“SARS-CoV-2” OR “Novel Coronavirus” OR “2019-nCoV"
[Title/Abstract]
B. "Clinical characteristics” OR “clinical feature” OR “clinical manifestation" [Title/Abstract]
C. "Consequences” OR “Chronic complications” OR“ Late complications” OR “Long-term
effects" [Title/Abstract]
D. [A] AND [B] AND [C]
Study selection
The most relevant studies based on titles and abstracts were retrieved by three independent
investigators. The full contents of the retrieved papers were reviewed, and the most
relevant papers were selected based on the eligibility criteria. The relevant data
were extracted and organized in tables. The peer-reviewed original papers published
in English that met the eligibility criteria were included in the final report. The
exclusion criteria were as follows:
Papers addressing non-human studies including in vitro investigations or publications
concentrating on animal experiments, or discussing COVID-19 in general, without reference
to the keywords of this study.
Unavailability of the full-text document.
Duplicated results in databases.
Data extraction
We used the data extraction sheet (Table 2) to summarize the information of the authors,
type of article (e.g., case series), country of origin, study population, and clinical
symptoms (late complications in this study). Two independent investigators gathered
this information and further organized them in the Tables. All the selected articles
were cross-checked by other authors to ensure no duplications or overlap exists in
the content.
Quality assessment
For bias risk assessment, two independent reviewers rated the quality of included
studies by applying the National Institute of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tools
for Case Series Studies. For this purpose, we have designed a table and evaluated
the studies according to NIH questionnaire (Table 1). A third independent investigator
was consulted to resolve probable difference of opinions in any case. The full text
of select articles was fully read and the key findings were extracted. The final report
including the key findings is summarized in Table 2.
Results
We retrieved 1325 documents using a systematic search strategy. After an initial review
of retrieved articles, 542 duplicates were removed, and the titles and abstracts of
the remaining 783 articles were reviewed. Applying the selection criteria, 718 articles
were excluded, and only 65 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in
the final review (Figure 1).
We identified 10 potential late complications of COVID-19 including neurological injuries,
lung, liver, kidney, and heart injuries, thromboembolism, cardiac/brain stroke, encephalopathy,
and psychological distress. Furthermore, some studies have pointed out other complications
such as hypoproteinemia, septic shock, and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (Table
1).
Review of studies showed that lung injuries (n=31), venous/arterial thrombosis (n=28),
heart injuries (n=26), cardiac/brain stroke (n=23), and neurological injuries (n=20)
were the most frequent late complications of COVID-19. Frequencies of identified late
complications of COVID-19 are demonstrated in Figure 2.
Discussion
One of the most important unknown features of COVID-19 is the duration of symptoms.
In the early stages of the disease, the experts believed that the recovery time for
mild cases of COVID-19 is 1-2 weeks (21). However, later in many patients, the symptoms
lasted for 8 to 10 weeks or even longer, and in some cases, the initial symptoms were
replaced by long-term complications such as lung or cardiac injuries (22). Since COVID-19
is a novel virus, there are limited studies about its late complications; it is just
a few months since the recovery of the first patients in China. However, the available
evidence suggests that the coronavirus can cause long-term complications in an infected
person as it may cause major injuries to the heart, kidneys, brain, and even blood
vessels (6, 10, 23, 24).
Table 1
Quality ratings of included studies based on NIH quality assessment (QA) tool for
case series studies
First Author
*Question
Rating
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
# 1
# 2
Ali Sepehrinezhad (21)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Filatov A (22)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Helms J (25)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Heneka MT (2)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Kochi AN (26)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Klok FA (27)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Klok FA (30)
Yes
Yes
NR
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Klok FA(30)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Kunutsor SK(44)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Landi A (28)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Lazar HL (45)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Lee M (46)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Liabeuf S(47)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Liu B (48)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Lorenzo-Villalba N(49)
Yes
Yes
NR
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Loungani RS(50)
Yes
Yes
NR
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Lodigiani C(34)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Long B (51)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Lopez M (52)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Ma J (53)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Ma L (54)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Mao L(43)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Mauro V(55)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Mendoza-Pinto C(56)
Yes
Yes
NR
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Nobile B (57)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Nogueira MS (29)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Orsi FA(33)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Oudkerk M(58)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Palmer K (59)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Poggiali E (35)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Parry AH (60)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Patel VG (61)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Paul P (62)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Paybast S (42)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Pryce-Roberts A(38)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Puntmann VO(37)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Rey JR (63)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Roche JA(64)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Rosen RJ(65)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Saban-Ruiz J (66)
Yes
Yes
NR
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Sheraton M (39)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Siguret V (67)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Silingardi R (68)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Silverman – Chen Lin DA (69)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Singh Y (23)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Stevens DV (70)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Strafella C (40)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Tian D (71)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Thomas W (72)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Terpos E (73)
Yes
Yes
NR
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Varatharaj A (41)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Varatharajah N (24)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Wagener F (10)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
NA
Yes
Fair
Fair
Wang X (6)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Zhu H (74)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Abboud H (75)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Khan S (76)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Khandait H (77)
Yes
Yes
CD
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Msigwa S S(78)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Sheikh A B (79)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Siripanthong B (80)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Vonck K (81)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Wijeratne T (82)
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Yachou Y (83)
Yes
Yes
CD
NA
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
Zaim S (84)
Yes
Yes
NA
CD
NA
Yes
CD
Yes
Yes
Fair
Fair
NA: not applicable; NIH: National Institutes of Health; NR: not reported; CD: cannot
determine
*The NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Case Series Studies contains nine questions:
1 = Was the study question or objective clearly stated?, 2 = Was the study population
clearly and fully described, including a case definition?, 3 = Were the cases consecutive?,
4 = Were the subjects comparable?, 5 = Was the intervention clearly described?, 6
= Were the outcome measures clearly defined, valid, reliable, and implemented consistently
across all study participants?, 7 = Was the length of follow-up adequate?, 8 = Were
the statistical methods well-described?, 9 = Were the results well-described?
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the selection process of articles identified.
Figure 2
Frequency of identified late complications of COVID-19.
Table 2
Identified late complications of COVID-19
ID
First author
Study type
Country
Study Population
Late complications
Neurologic
Lung disease
Liver diseases
Heart damage
Thrombosis
Kidneydisease
Stroke
Other
1
Ali Sepehrinezhad (21)
Perspective Review
Iran
Patients with neurological complications
√
×
×
×
×
×
×
--
2
Filatov A (22)
Case Report
USA
74-year-old male
√
×
×
×
×
×
×
Encephalopathy
3
Helms J (25)
Editorial
France
COVID19 patients
√
×
×
×
×
×
√
--
4
Heneka MT (2)
Review
Germany
COVID19 patients
√
×
×
×
×
×
×
--
5
Kochi AN (26)
Review
Italy
COVID19 patients
×
√
×
√
×
×
√
--
6
Klok FA (27)
Case-control
Netherlands
COVID19 patients
×
×
×
×
√
×
×
--
7
Klok FA (30)
Case-Control
Netherlands
COVID19 patients
×
×
×
√
√
×
√
Symptomatic acute pulmonary embolism (PE), myocardial infarction or systemic arterial
embolism
8
Klok FA(30)
Case-Control
Netherlands
COVID19 patients admitted to the ICU
×
×
×
√
√
×
√
Pulmonary embolism, DVT, Ischemic, systemic arterial embolism
9
Kunutsor SK(44)
Letter to Editor
UK
COVID 19 patients
×
×
√
×
×
×
×
Hypoproteinemia
10
Landi A (28)
Letter to Editor
Italy
COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU
×
√
×
√
√
×
√
--
11
Lazar HL (45)
Commentary
USA
COVID19 patients admitted to the ICU
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
--
12
Lee M (46)
Letter to Editor
China
COVID 19 patients with a history of cardiovascular diseases
×
×
×
√
×
×
×
--
13
Liabeuf S(47)
Cohort
France
hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19
×
√
×
×
×
√
×
GI damage, septic shock
14
Liu B (48)
Authors Reply
China
COVID19 Patients
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
--
15
Lorenzo-Villalba N(49)
Case Report
France
a patient hospitalized for COVID-19
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
Parotiditis, cutaneous complications such as hemorrhagic bullae with intra-bullae
blood clots and dissecting hematomas, Isolated herpetiform lesions, petechial rash
16
Loungani RS(50)
Review
USA
COVID 19 Patients
×
×
×
√
×
×
√
17
Lodigiani C(34)
Cohort
Italy
COVID19 patients admitted to hospital
×
×
×
√
√
×
√
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS)/myocardial infarction (MI),overt disseminated intravascular
coagulation (DIC)
18
Long B (51)
Cohort
USA
COVID19 patients
×
√
×
√
√
×
×
Systematic inflammation, myocardial injury, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmias,
19
Lopez M (52)
Review
USA
COVID19 patients
√
√
√
√
√
×
√
Psychological distress
20
Ma J (53)
Letter to Editor
China
three critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
√
×
×
×
√
√
√
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, dry gangrene, multiple cerebral infarction, refractory
disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and pneumothorax
21
Ma L (54)
Review
China
COVID19 patients
×
√
×
√
×
×
√
Pneumonia, persistent hypotension
22
Mao L(43)
Research article
China
Hospitalized PatientsWith Coronavirus Disease 2019
√
√
×
×
×
×
×
--
23
Mauro V(55)
Point of view
Italy
COVID19 patients
×
×
√
×
×
×
×
--
24
Mendoza-Pinto C(56)
Letter to Editor
Mexico
COVID19 patients
×
×
×
√
√
√
×
Elevated D-dimer, and coagulation abnormalities, catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome
(CAPS), multiple small vessel occlusions, multiorgan system failure
25
Nobile B (57)
Letter to Editor
France
COVID19 patients using Cloripramine
√
√
×
×
×
×
√
Psychological distress, ischemic attacks, leading to brain inflammation and lesions
26
Nogueira MS (29)
Review
Ireland
COVID19 patients
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
Pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and lymphadenopathy
27
Orsi FA(33)
Review
Brazil
HospitalizedCOVID-19 patients
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
Septic shock or multiple organ dysfunction, ARDS, Hypercoagulability
28
Oudkerk M(58)
Special Report
Netherlands
COVID-19 patients
×
√
×
√
√
√
×
GI damage, vascular endothelial damage
29
Palmer K (59)
Review
Italy
COVID-19 patients with non-communicable disease (NCD)
×
√
×
√
√
×
√
Psychological distress,exacerbated chronic NCD conditions (e.g., asthma, chronic obstructive,
congestive cardiac failure)
30
Poggiali E (35)
Case Reports
Italy
An 82-year-old woman, A 64-year-old man
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
Venous thromboembolism, Deep Pulmonary Embolism
31
Parry AH (60)
Letter to Editor
India
COVID-19 patients with pneumonia
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
Diffuse alveolar damage, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary vascular damage,
PTE
32
Patel VG (61)
Letter to Editor-Cohort
USA
COVID-19 patients with prostate cancer
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
--
33
Paul P (62)
Letter to Editor
India
COVID-19 patients
×
√
×
√
×
×
×
ARDS, pneumonia, multiple organ failure, infective myocarditis
34
Paybast S (42)
Review
Iran
COVID-19 patients
√
√
×
×
×
√
√
GI disease, Intracranial hemorrhage, hyposmia and hypogeusia, disorientation, third
nerve palsy
35
Pryce-Roberts A(38)
Review
UK
COVID-19 patients
√
×
×
×
×
×
√
Dysgeusia, hyposmia, disorientation, encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, and encephalopathy
36
Puntmann VO(37)
Clinical trial
Germany
Patients Recently Recovered From COVID-19
×
×
×
√
×
×
×
--
37
Rey JR (63)
Letter to editor
Spain
patients attended due to COVID-19
×
√
×
√
√
×
√
Acute coronary syndrome
38
Roche JA(64)
Hypothesis
USA
COVID 19 patients with deregulated BK signaling
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
--
39
Rosen RJ(65)
Letter to editor
USA
×
×
×
×
√
×
√
--
40
Saban-Ruiz J (66)
Review
Spain
Cardiometabolic health/medicine
×
×
×
√
×
×
√
--
41
Sheraton M (39)
Review
USA
Patients with neurological complications
√
×
×
×
×
×
×
Guillain-Barre syndrome
42
Siguret V (67)
Letter to the editor
France
Thrombotic complications in critically ill COVID-19
×
×
×
×
√
×
√
--
43
Silingardi R (68)
Letter to the editor
Italy
Acute limb ischemia in COVID-19 patients
×
×
×
×
√
×
×
Acute limb ischemia-Pulmonary Embolism-Aortic floating thrombus
44
Silverman – Chen Lin DA (69)
Review
USA
COVID-19 patients
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
--
45
Singh Y (23)
Letter to the editor
India
Cellular metabolism mediated complications in COVID-19infection
√
√
×
√
×
√
√
Cell death triggered by ferroptotic stress
46
Stevens DV (70)
Case-Study
USA
Complications of Orbital Emphysema in a COVID-19 Patient
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
--
47
Strafella C (40)
Analytic
Italy
Analysis of ACE2 Genetic Variability Among Populations
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√
×
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×
√
×
Sepsis
48
Tian D (71)
Review
China
COVID-19 patients
×
×
√
×
×
×
×
--
49
Thomas W (72)
Letter to the editor
United Kingdom
Thrombotic complication of a patient with COVID-19
×
×
×
×
√
×
√
--
50
Terpos E (73)
Review
Greece
Hematologic complications in COVID-19 patients
×
×
×
√
√
×
×
--
51
Varatharaj A (41)
Case-control
UK
COVID-19 patients
√
×
×
×
×
×
√
Thrombotic complication of a patient with COVID-19
52
Varatharajah N (24)
Letter to the editor
USA
Microthrombotic complications of patients with COVID-19
×
√
×
×
√
×
×
Hematologic complications in COVID-19 patients
53
Wagener F (10)
Viewpoint
Netherlands
Critically ill COVID-19 patients
×
√
×
×
×
×
×
Coagulation abnormality
54
Wang X (6)
Research article
China
Chronic diseases among patients with COVID-19
×
×
√
√
√
√
×
--
55
Zhu H (74)
Review
USA
patients with COVID-19
×
√
×
√
×
×
×
Coagulopathy-DIC
56
Abboud H (75)
Review
Morocco
patients with COVID-19
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×
×
×
×
×
×
--
57
Khan S (76)
Review
Malaysia
patients with COVID-19
×
×
×
×
√
×
×
--
58
Khandait H (77)
Research article
India
patients with COVID-19
×
√
×
√
√
×
√
Coagulopathy-DIC-Pulmonary Embolism-Deep vein thrombosis
59
Msigwa S S(78)
Review
China
patients with COVID-19
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×
×
×
×
×
×
--
60
Sheikh A B (79)
Case-report
USA
56-year-old man with COVID-19
×
×
×
√
√
×
×
--
61
Siripanthong B (80)
Review
UK
patients with COVID-19
×
×
×
√
×
×
×
Myocarditis
62
Vonck K (81)
Review
Belgium
patients with COVID-19
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×
×
×
×
×
×
central nervous system (CNS) manifestations [dizziness, headache, impaired, consciousness,
acute cerebrovascular disease (CVD), ataxia and seizure], cranial and peripheral nervous
system manifestations (taste impairment, smell impairment, vision impairment and neuropathy),
and skeletal muscular injury manifestations
63
Wijeratne T (82)
Review
Australia
patients with COVID-19
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×
×
×
×
×
√
Acute ischemic stroke
64
Yachou Y (83)
Review
Russia
patients with COVID-19
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×
×
×
×
×
×
--
65
Zaim S (84)
Review
UK
patients with COVID-19
√
√
√
√
×
√
×
DIC
DVT: Deep vein thrombosis; GI: gastrointestinal; PTE: pulmonary thromboembolism; DIC:
disseminated intravascular coagulation.
The available evidence indicates the recurrence of symptoms in some patients who presented
with severe initial symptoms (2, 25, 26). The key question is “what causes the recurrence
of symptoms?”. It may be caused by the recurrence or persistence of the primary COVID-19
infection or super infection with another virus or even bacteria due to the compromised
immune system (27). In addition, the systemic and multiorgan involvement in advanced
phases of COVID-19 pneumonia can cause renal failure, liver dysfunction, thrombocytopenia,
and coagulation disorders (28). Therefore, the survivors may present a variety of
long-term complications in different organs, including a post-recovery syndrome that
doctors call "post-COVID lung disease" (29). By looking at the organs affected during
an infection, one can imagine what organs are likely to be affected by long-term complications
of COVID-19 infection (30).
The most common long-term complication of COVID-19 is lung disease (8, 29, 31). Most
of the COVID-19 patients could be recovered completely except for some minor complications
such as cough and shortness of breath. However, a certain proportion of patients have
excessive lung damage, and some of them develop pulmonary fibrosis (32). Autopsy studies
demonstrated the predominance of microvascular thrombosis in the lungs, coincident
with markers of inflammation, which is a hallmark of prolonged infection and sepsis
(33). Severe lung involvement in COVID-19 patients could increase the likelihood of
progression to chronic lung disease and lead to long-term complications (8, 33).
COVID-19 patients may experience both venous and arterial thrombosis due to severe
inflammation and hypoxia, long immobilization, and diffuse intravascular coagulation
(27, 28). Klok et al. reported the incidence rate of thrombotic complications to be
31% among ICU patients with severe COVID-19 infection (27). The results of another
study reported the high number of arterial and, in particular, venous thrombo-embolic
late complications (34). Poggiali et al. described two patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
who developed venous thromboembolism and reported hypoxia and sepsis as the potential
risk factors for vein thromboembolism (VTE)(35).
Recent studies reported an increased risk of heart failure in COVID-19 patients (26,
28, 30). Moreover, episodes of clinical myocarditis have been observed (15). Heart
injuries related to COVID-19 may occur over the course of the disease(36). Late involvement
of cardiac muscle has been documented in a study by Puntmannet al. In this study,
the researchers investigated the cardiac complications in 100 recovered patients;
78% of patients had cardiac involvement in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
76% had detectable high-sensitivity troponin, and 60% had abnormal native T1 and T2,
which indicates the presence of active myocardial (37). Compared to the control group
with similar preexisting conditions, left ventricle ejection fraction was lower and
the ventricular size was higher in COVID-19 patients. In addition, 32% of patients
had late gadolinium enhancement and 22% of them had pericardial involvement (36, 37).
COVID-19 can cause damage to the central nervous system, with potentially long-term
consequences (38-41). Late neurological complications of COVID-19, whether caused
by the virus or by the triggered inflammation, include decreased awareness and absorption,
disturbed memory, and dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system (42). In one study
from China, more than a third of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 had
neurological symptoms, including dizziness, headaches, impaired consciousness, vision,
taste/smell impairment, and nerve pain. These symptoms were more common in patients
with severe disease, where the incidence increased to almost 47 percent (43). Another study in
France found neurologic features in 58 of 64 critically ill COVID-19 patients (25).
Conclusion
Since we are still at the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is too soon to
predict what long-term complications are likely to appear in the survivors of the
disease in years after recovery. Furthermore, the complexity of COVID-19 behaviors
and variety of its targets in the human body create uncertainty in anticipating long-term
complications. However, several ongoing studies are set up to examine the physical,
psychological, and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19.