Introduction/framework/objectives

After a few years of exposure to different strains of COVID-19, there is a large percentage of infected individuals worldwide, most of whom are of working age. Taking into account that in a substantial fraction of these there were prolonged symptoms and with some capacity to alter work capacity, a review was initiated in order to summarize the most pertinent information published on this subject.

Methodology

This is a Bibliographic Review, initiated through a search carried out in April 2023, in the databases “CINALH plus with full text, Medline with full text, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Methodology Register, Nursing and Allied Health Collection: comprehensive, MedicLatina and RCAAP”.

Content

This syndrome is a set of multiorgan symptoms/sequelae that affects previously infected individuals, sometimes lasting several months. It is a chronic complication, due to a persistent hyperinflammatory state (although the pathophysiology is not clearly known) and even after the COVID test is negative. It may be justified by inflammatory, hypoxic, microvascular and neurodegenerative changes; by direct damage caused by the virus itself and/or by secondary effects of therapy and co-existing morbidities. The emotional part may be associated with the fear of infecting family members, the economic problems associated with the costs of medical care (in countries with more privatized healthcare systems) and/or the stigma of the infection itself.

The diagnosis is clinical and appears both in individuals who have been hospitalized and who have not.

It can involve morbidity, overload on the health system and financial resources.

It is also called Long COVID Syndrome, a term that actually emerged on social media.

Discussion and Conclusions

Given the temporality, the articles published on the topic are reasonably recent, and there is no previous bibliography on this subject to discuss the data obtained; although some symptoms may also be due to other more prevalent and/or old infections, possibly due to a similar pathophysiological mechanism.

All evolutions are possible: from asymptomatic individuals during and after the infection to others with very debilitating symptoms that limit their ability to work. It is necessary for the occupational health team to evaluate each case, using the aptitude classification to help adapt tasks and obtain greater performance, job satisfaction and profit.

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