Pulmonary sequela | The post symptoms primarily derived from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was observed. Common pulmonary sequela included Dyspnea, hypoxia due to decreased breathing capacity. In contrast, the restrictive pulmonary physiology revealed the parenchymal abnormalities characterised by ground-glass opacity and “cord-like consolidation” (Zhang et al., 2020). Also, muscle weakening due to deconditioning was a subsidising solid factor. In addition, the survivors developed substantial lung fibrosis, which was related to barotrauma secondary to high-pressure ventilation, and minor complications included extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (Fraser, 2020) Recommendations: Monitoring the stability with CT chest and pulmonary angiogram is clinically appropriate to monitor any fluctuations. |
Renal sequela | Acute kidney injury (AKI) is widely noticed in the later stages of infection, and it is related to proteinuria and hematuria, along with elevated serum creatinine levels and urea nitrogen levels. Severe acute tubular necrosis with an accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antigens was observed in severe cases of chronic COVID-19, which directly infected kidney tubules. However, it is plausible to speculate that the virologic mechanism provokes complication like glomerulopathy and protein leakage in the bowman's capsule. Recommendations: Monitoring acute functional changes in kidney function suggestive strategies includes lung-protective ventilation, limiting the ventilator-induced hemodynamic effects and the cytokine load in kidneys. |
Cardiopulmonary sequela | Prolonged problems included cardiometabolic demand, myocardial fibrosis, arrhythmias, tachycardia and autonomic dysfunction. Moreover, common disorders included palpitations, dyspnea and chest pain was also reported. Cardiac dysfunction was diagnosed due to direst virologic events. Systemic inflammation can potentially lead to coronary microcirculation disruption and downstream myocardial ischemic sequela, despite clinical interventions, sudden cardiac arrest in patients with no prior history of ischemic heart disease. Fulminant myocarditis and cardiogenic shock were observed in few cases. Recommendations: Monitored with echocardiogram and electrocardiogram follow-up at pertinent intervals. Continuous monitoring of monitor plasma cTnI and NT-proBNP levels in the acute phase can be a preventive measure to further complications. The transthoracic echocardiographic examination may be recommended for chronic COVID -19 patients. |
Liver sequela | Close monitoring of liver function routine test with mild to elevated serum transaminases, bilirubin, LDH, and prothrombin time in acute COVID -19 cases. Hypoalbuminemia and prolonged prothrombin were noted in chronic patients, while jaundice was less reported. Chronic liver diseases like liver cirrhosis caused mortality in severely affected patients being the pre-disposing and significant contributing factor for casualty was specifically reported in COVID- 19 patients with prior. Recommendations: A liver transplant can be the least option; however, transplant recipients are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV2 infection due to immunosuppressive state and corticosteroid therapy. Exceptional cases have survived but the development of multiple nosocomial infections and develop septic shock. |
Gastrointestinal sequela | Contrasting changes in the microbiome of the GI tract is reported post-COVID- 19; the most common complaints include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea at the onset. Moreover, prolonged viral shedding is noted and speculated to alter the beneficial commensals. Recommendations: Routine faecal negative test is recommended to ensure the recovery of patients in the acute phase. |
Immunological and haematological sequela | Lymphopenia is commonly observed, acute coagulation disorders, septic shock venous thromboembolism (VTE) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) proportionally increased with the severity of the disease. Retrospective studies markedly report on the thromboembolic events in the later part for acute infection. Recommendations: Monitoring on D-dimer levels may be precautionary to probe thrombosis and prevent VTE; use of anticoagulants decreased mortality |
Neuro-psychiatric sequela | Chronic cases reported acute cerebrovascular disease, reduced consciousness, skeletal muscle injury (Herman et al., 2020). Acute phases were accompanied by decreased sensory perceptions like taste, smell, and appetite and neuralgia. Moreover, headache, fatigue, faintness, acute cerebrovascular disease and epilepsy were also widely recorded. At the same time, the psychological dysfunctions included depression, post-traumatic stress and interrupted sleep. |
Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) | MIS-C, commonly referred to as pediatric inflammatory, a multisystem syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 under 19 years old (WHO) characterised by cardiovascular impairment such as coronary artery aneurysm and neurological disorders like cranial nerve palsies, muscle weakness, stroke, headache and encephalopathy Recommendations: Serial echocardiographic assessment is advised to post 6 weeks of presentation, and Cardiac MRI is recommended for patients who suffered fibrosis and inflammation during the acute phase of COVID -19 |
Reproductive sequela | Pregnant women associated with the allied respiratory problem were observed to have poorer perinatal consequences such as spontaneous abortion, maternal death, and pre-term labour (Wang et al., 2020). Unlike SARS, COVID-19 did not lead to any male reproductive impairment like male infertility and viral orchitis; indeed, the latter can lead to severe testicular damages like azoospermia (Xu et al., 2006). |
Endocrinal sequela | Administration of steroids for chronic cases may trigger DKA and induced diabetes and at the same time worsen the control over the existing diabetes mellitus. Alterations in thyroid secretions were noted with sub-acute thyroiditis and bone demineralisation in fewer cases. |