Long COVID and Post-Covid Conditions (PCC) in 2025

Additional Authors

Dr. Paul Benson Tri-Cities Skin and Cancer

Abstract

The COVID/SARS-2 pandemic left a lasting impact on healthcare perspectives and the management of chronic illnesses. It has been seen that COVID leaves individuals with a myriad of health issues after infection, an illness known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Long COVID is defined by signs and symptoms that develop four or more weeks after infection. Research suggests three scenarios: (1) Persistent, signs and symptoms that last for weeks, months and years after initial infection, (2) Recurrent, symptoms that come and go, and (3) New, meaning signs and symptoms that were not present in the initial phase of infection. People who experience these various symptoms are known as Covid “long haulers” There is a considerable volume of studies being conducted on Long COVID. A literature review of peer reviewed journal articles from 2021 to the present was done encompassing the fields of cardiopulmonary medicine, dermatology, neurology, and rheumatology. These fields were selected based on high prevalence of signs and symptoms in each respective specialty. Risk factors of Long COVID include severe COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalizations, comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, asthma, or obesity, and lack of prior vaccination for COVID-19. Articles that stratified the symptoms on the basis of severity found that symptom severity correlated with illness severity. The most common long COVID cardiopulmonary manifestations include arrhythmias, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Dermatological manifestations include chronic urticaria, telogen effluvium (diffuse transient hair loss), chilblains (“COVID toes”), and flare-ups of other common skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis. Neurologic manifestations consist of issues with concentration and memory loss (“brain fog”), sleep disturbances, headaches, dizziness, tremors, anxiety and depression. Rheumatological symptoms comprised of generalized weakness, chronic fatigue, persistent joint pain and swelling, and myalgia. Knowledge of long-term Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) is essential in assessing COVID “long haulers”.

Start Time

16-4-2025 1:30 PM

End Time

16-4-2025 4:00 PM

Presentation Type

Poster

Presentation Category

Health

Student Type

Undergraduate Student

Faculty Mentor

Wael Shams

Faculty Department

ETSU Infectious Diseases

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 16th, 1:30 PM Apr 16th, 4:00 PM

Long COVID and Post-Covid Conditions (PCC) in 2025

The COVID/SARS-2 pandemic left a lasting impact on healthcare perspectives and the management of chronic illnesses. It has been seen that COVID leaves individuals with a myriad of health issues after infection, an illness known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Long COVID is defined by signs and symptoms that develop four or more weeks after infection. Research suggests three scenarios: (1) Persistent, signs and symptoms that last for weeks, months and years after initial infection, (2) Recurrent, symptoms that come and go, and (3) New, meaning signs and symptoms that were not present in the initial phase of infection. People who experience these various symptoms are known as Covid “long haulers” There is a considerable volume of studies being conducted on Long COVID. A literature review of peer reviewed journal articles from 2021 to the present was done encompassing the fields of cardiopulmonary medicine, dermatology, neurology, and rheumatology. These fields were selected based on high prevalence of signs and symptoms in each respective specialty. Risk factors of Long COVID include severe COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalizations, comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, asthma, or obesity, and lack of prior vaccination for COVID-19. Articles that stratified the symptoms on the basis of severity found that symptom severity correlated with illness severity. The most common long COVID cardiopulmonary manifestations include arrhythmias, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Dermatological manifestations include chronic urticaria, telogen effluvium (diffuse transient hair loss), chilblains (“COVID toes”), and flare-ups of other common skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis. Neurologic manifestations consist of issues with concentration and memory loss (“brain fog”), sleep disturbances, headaches, dizziness, tremors, anxiety and depression. Rheumatological symptoms comprised of generalized weakness, chronic fatigue, persistent joint pain and swelling, and myalgia. Knowledge of long-term Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) is essential in assessing COVID “long haulers”.