Review Article
Year: 2021 | Month: July-September | Volume: 6 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 472-478
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijshr.20210776
Post-COVID Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: New Challenge Ahead
Adwitiya Ray 1, Neharika Saini2, Ravi Parkash3, Naresh Kumar4, Harsh Kumar 5
1Junior Resident, Dept. of Psychiatry, 2Senior Resident, Dept. of Medicine, 3Senior Resident, Dept. of Psychiatry,
4Junior Resident, Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS Rohtak.
5Medical Graduate (MBBS) AIIMS Rishikesh.
Corresponding Author: Ravi Parkash
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection that causes various respiratory, gastrointestinal, and vascular symptoms. The acute illness phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks. However, there is increasing evidence that a percentage of COVID-19 patients continue to experience long-lasting symptoms characterized by fatigue, dyspnea, myalgia, exercise intolerance, and sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, fever, headache, malaise, and vertigo. Similar symptoms are reported by patients who having myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS pathology is not known: it is thought to be multifactorial, resulting from the dysregulation of multiple systems in response to a particular trigger. There is a resemblance between post-acute COVID-19 symptoms and ME/CFS. However, at present, there is inadequate evidence to establish COVID-19 as an infectious trigger for ME/CFS. Further research is required to determine the natural history of this condition, as well as to define risk factors, prevalence, and possible interventional strategies.
Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome, COVID-19, human coronavirus, myalgic encephalomyelitis, post-infectious fatigue, review.