The quest to unravel the mysteries behind Long COVID took a step forward with the launch of an internationally-coordinated attempt to capture standardised data on the condition.
The World Health Organization and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium announced a project to amass a so-called core outcome set (COS) to help build up a better picture of post-COVID conditions.
In a statement via the WHO, ISARIC said Long COVID, which remains one of the lesser-understood aspects of the pandemic, was an “emerging global healthcare crisis.”
Little is known about why some people, after coming through the acute phase of infection, struggle to recover and suffer ongoing symptoms including shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and brain fog as well as cardiac and neurological disorders.
Despite a “significant portion” of COVID-19 cases going on to suffer from Long COVID, “the evidence for this condition is limited and based on small patient cohorts with short-term follow-up,” ISARIC said.
