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http://dx.doi.org/10.15188/kjopp.2022.10.36.5.155

Korean Medicine Review and Treatment Suggestions for the Main Symptoms of Long COVID  

Yosun, Hwang (School of Korean Mdicine, Pusan National University)
Euna, Lee (School of Korean Mdicine, Pusan National University)
Hyungwoo, Kim (School of Korean Mdicine, Pusan National University)
Publication Information
Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine / v.36, no.5, 2022 , pp. 155-162 More about this Journal
Abstract
Even after testing negative for COVID-19, some patients continue to struggle with a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal problems and neurological problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined long COVID (Post COVID-19 conditions) as "A disease occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, usually 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 with symptoms that last for at least 2 months, that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis." As a possible pathological mechanism of long COVID, three hypotheses are proposed: the persistence of the infectious state due to the residual virus, the persistent inflammatory response, and the autoimmune response. The main symptoms of long COVID are shortness of breath (dyspnea), abdominal pain and dyspepsia, fatigue, cognitive problems (brain fog), anosmia and dysgeusia, and chest pain, palpitations and tachycardia. In the Chinese guidelines, COVID-19 patients were divided into mild, moderate, severe, and recovery, and prescriptions with effective therapeutic effects were summarized to encourage combined treatment of chinese and western medicine. Globally, only symptomatic therapy is recommended for long COVID, but a specific treatment has not yet been proposed. Recently, morbidity code for post COVID-19 conditions was created, and it is planned to announce guidelines for long COVID treatment and management in the first half of 2023. In line with this trend, the Korean medical community needs to make efforts to prepare treatment guidelines for patients with long COVID.
Keywords
Long COVID; COVID-19; Post-COVID conditions; Herbal medicine; Korean medicine;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 5  (Citation Analysis)
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