Research status of long COVID and health management strategies

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2） is still spreading widely around the world， and it is estimated that there are more than 760 million confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection （COVID-19）. Although most of the infected patients can be cured， there are still many patients who experience persistent clinical symptoms such as dizziness， fatigue， weakness， coughing and chest pain， etc. at two to three months or even longer after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. Internationally， this type of discomforts is referred to as long COVID. The emergence of long COVID has brought a new crisis to people’s health， which not only affects the quality of life and work of patients， but also brings great pressure on the health care of the society. Continuously exploring the impact of long COVID and its underlying mechanism， developing health management strategies for long COVID， and better prevention and treatment of long COVID are still the focus of research worldwide. The article introduces the definition of long COVID and reviews recent research progress in its underlying mechanism， common systemic clinical manifestations， risk factors， and health management of long COVID， aiming to provide more ideas for deepening clinicians’ understanding of long COVID.