The spectrum of signs and symptoms that can newly occur and persist for months to years after SARS-CoV-2 infection was initially named long COVID. This term was collectively created by the patient community in the spring of 2020,1 and was later followed by other terms, such as post-COVID-19 condition, post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and post-COVID syndrome.2 This condition can affect different organs and body systems, with a wide range of signs and symptoms reported. Given the magnitude of the sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, it is essential to agree upon the nomenclature and definition to assess its incidence, subtypes, and severity. This process cannot be left to agencies, health-care providers, or researchers alone, but requires extensive consultation, notably including the people affected.
In early 2021, WHO established technical working groups to provide a clinical case definition for this condition and amplified the calls of patient groups for recognition, research, and rehabilitation. A rapidly increasing number of studies started to investigate the incidence and prevalence, features, and risk factors of the prolonged sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the underlying mechanisms, and case management approaches.3
There are concerns about differences in terminology, with some public health experts and policy makers avoiding the term long COVID. The use of different terms can raise worries, especially among those with lived experience of the condition who originally coined the term long COVID. Many issues have been raised by patient-researchers and other adopters of the term. One issue is epistemic injustice in medicine, including the poor recognition of patient-led expertise. Patient perspectives emphasise the tradition in medical history that those who first identify and describe a condition, name it. In the case of long COVID, it was people with lived experience of it who brought it to the world’s attention and described it via a wide range of methods. The first publication on prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 was authored by patient-researchers with long COVID, later known as the Patient-Led Research Collaborative.4 Another issue is that the severity, features, and urgency of long COVID—as highlighted by patients—are not fully addressed within the framework of other terms and definitions. Long COVID remains the patient-preferred term.1
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Source: Munblit D, O’Hara ME, Akrami A, Perego E, Olliaro P, Needham DM. Long COVID: aiming for a consensus [published online ahead of print, 2022 May 4]. Lancet Respir Med. 2022;S2213-2600(22)00135-7. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00135-7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9067938/ (Full text)