Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory illness. It is
caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). It has gained widespread recognition
after it originated from China. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the
outbreak of COVID-19 as an international public health emergency. Patients of
COVID-19 develop long-time complications along with severe health problems as it
majorly affects the respiratory system, utilizing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.
Characteristic symptoms include fever, cough, and dyspnea, although some patients
may be asymptomatic. People need extensive care to be protected from anxiety and
depression. This outbreak harmed various organ systems and led to the development of
long-term complications such as respiratory failure, pneumonia, pancreatic
complications, cardiac injury, secondary infections, renal disorders, disseminated
intravascular coagulation, and rhabdomyolysis. Individuals with comorbidities are at
higher risk of illness and mortality. The risk is also increasing in older people,
especially people the age of 60-80 years or more. The most prevalent comorbidities are
asthma, neurologic disorders, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and
malignancy/hematologic conditions. As there is no specific treatment available so far,
therefore complications of this disease are also increased by the use of non-specific
drugs. The recovery of these patients is another major challenge for health care
professionals. So in this chapter, we will discuss long-term complications associated
with COVID-19.
Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Diabetes,
Mortality, Neurological effect, Pandemic, Renal effect, Respiratory effect,
Rheumatoid arthritis.
