Towards consensus: The need for standardised definitions in Long (post) COVID care in 34 European countries
The findings underscore the need for a unified, yet adaptable, definition of Long COVID. Such a definition would support general practitioners (GPs) by simplifying diagnostic processes, improving continuity of care, and facilitating equitable patient access to multidisciplinary resources. The current lack of consensus complicates patient care, data collection, and resource allocation, impacting health policy development. Future efforts should focus on achieving agreement on definitions to ensure equitable treatment and effective healthcare responses to Long COVID.
Authors
- Davorina Petek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0151-4463)
- Péter Torzsa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8148-4961)
- Jochen G. Schneider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2139-0602)
- Fabio Ferla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4499-3748)
- Pekka Mäntyselkä (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5236-1815)
- Vasilis Trifon Karathanos
- Shlomo Vinker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9804-7103)
- Mario Fournier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0412-5659)
- Sabine Bayen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3334-9394)
- Kathryn Hoffmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8760-4250)
- Maria Bakola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9016-9322)
- Kadri Suija (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3364-7372)
- M.E. Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1028-9608)
- Anna Krztoń-Królewiecka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-8361)
- Anna Segernäs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8111-7742)
- Oksana Ilkov
- Jako Burgers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6040-4221)
- Raquel Gómez Bravo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3786-8626)
- Snežana Knežević (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9137-2122)
- Sherihane Bensemmane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0672-7759)
- Heidrun Lingner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2074-0367)
- Sara Ares-Blanco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4984-8788)
- Iliana-Carmen Busneag (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5611-4312)
- Elena Brutskaya-Stempkovskaya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1820-7962)
- Jean Muris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8780-476X)
- Büsra Çimen Korkmaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7224-5734)
- Bohumil Seifert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6881-8840)
- Ábel Perjés (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7176-1275)
- Theresa Sentker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1162-310X)
- Ana Luísa Neves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7107-7211)
- Louise Fitzgerald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8039-3097)
- Achim Mortsiefer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9901-1727)
- Aleksander Stepanović
- Sarah Moreels (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4020-9533)
- María Pilar Astier-Peña (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3192-7672)
- Miroslav Hanževački (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5107-9052)
- Ileana Gefaell Larrondo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1635-1003)
- Thomas Frese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9745-5690)
- Dragan Gjorgjievski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1817-7632)
- Georgi Tsigarovski
- Sandra León-Herrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1200-5904)
- Ferdinando Petrazzuoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1058-492X)
- Tatjana Meister (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4213-6657)
- Philippe-Richard Domeyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4594-1202)
- Bruno Heleno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3943-1858)
- Naldy Parodi López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6367-9389)
- Liubovė Murauskienė (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6625-8843)
- Ivanna Shushman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6060-0804)
- Radost Аsenova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2158-5792)
- Marina Dotsenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3061-1836)
- Katarzyna Nessler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9869-7923)
- Marina Guisado‐Clavero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8448-2929)
- Limor Adler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9335-6596)
- Sabīne Feldmane
- Erva Kırkoç Üçüncü
- Vojtěch Černý (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-2416)
- Nicola Buono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8797-477X)
- Milena Kostić
- Anna Repovská
- Stylianos Kazakos
- Xenia Wostmann
- Daniel Croucher
- Nathalie Wössner
Institutions
- Semmelweis University (HU)
- Spiru Haret University (RO)
- Jagiellonian University (PL)
- Royal Irish Academy (IE)
- Military Medical Academy (RS)
- University of Ljubljana (SI)
- Witten/Herdecke University (DE)
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- Vilnius University (LT)
- University of Eastern Finland (FI)
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Malmö University (SE)
- University of Luxembourg (LU)
- University of Ioannina (GR)
- Miyazaki International College (JP)
- Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (IE)
- Charles University (CZ)
- Université de Lille (FR)
- Hellenic Open University (GR)
- Universidad de Zaragoza (ES)
- Heritage Malta (MT)
- Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest (RO)
- Luther University (KR)
- University Health System (US)
- Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SE)
- Medical University Plovdiv (BG)
- Mater Dei Hospital (MT)
- CHI Health (US)
- State Hospital (GB)
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (DE)
- Vilnius University of Applied Sciences (LT)
- Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (CH)
- Luxembourg Institute of Health (LU)
- Larnaca College (CY)
- Servicio Aragonés de Salud (ES)
- University of Applied Health Sciences (HR)
- Global Health Strategies (United States) (US)
- Regional Health (US)
- Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud (ES)
- Sociedad Española de Medicina de Familia y Comunitaria (ES)
- Diyarbakır Askeri Hastanesi (TR)
- Administração Regional de Saúde de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (PT)
- Public Health Institute (US)
- Portuguese Air Transportations (Portugal) (PT)
- Madrid Health Service (ES)
- DaVinci Institute (US)
- Riga Stradiņš University (LV)
- Healthwise (US)
- Children's Aid Society (US)
- Expert System (Italy) (IT)
- Primary Health Care (QA)
- Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute of Public Health (HR)
- Società Italiana di Medicina Generale (IT)
- Sciensano (Belgium) (BE)
- Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University (PL)
- University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (SK)
- Dutch College of General Practitioners (NL)
- York District Hospital (US)
- Network Group (Czechia) (CZ)
- Royal College of Physicians (GB)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- University of Charleston (US)
- Belarusian State Medical University (BY)
- University of Tartu (EE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
- Comenius University Bratislava (SK)
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
- Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (MK)
- Uzhhorod National University (UA)
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT)
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of General Practice
- Published
- 2025-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2025.2535618
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.39