Consequences of COVID-19: Addressing Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions

Announcer:
You’re listening to Living Rheum on ReachMD. On this episode, Dr. Leonard Calabrese will discuss the relationship between long COVID and rheumatological conditions. Dr. Calabrese is the Vice Chairman of the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Disease and Head of the Section of Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Let’s hear from him now.

Dr. Calabrese:
Long COVID is a prime example of what we now refer to as post-acute infectious syndromes or infection-associated chronic conditions that have been around for a long time. But up until the COVID pandemic and the evolution of long COVID, these disorders have been met with little interest in the general medical community, let alone the rheumatologic community; have often been surrounded by controversy; and have not been the focus of robust clinical basic and translational research. And patients who have these, who often suffer greatly, have largely been marginalized.

I’ve been interested in these diseases for over 30 years and have rarely talked about it in rheumatologic circles. I’ve seen patients with ME/CFS—myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome is what we now refer to it as. So now, enter COVID-19. The pandemic goes around the world, and lo and behold, at least 4 percent of people who experience COVID-19 are developing conditions very reminiscent of ME/CFS with fatigue and post-exertional malaise diffuse pain—very reminiscent of fibromyalgia or nociplastic pain—neurocognitive symptomatology, and postural intolerance dysautonomia. And so it can no longer be marginalized and ignored, and rheumatology is one of the specialties that needs to incorporate education on this miniature pandemic and bring their resources to bear on trying to help these patients and figure out this condition.

Announcer:
That was Dr. Leonard Calabrese discussing the relationship between long COVID and rheumatological conditions. To access this and other episodes in our series, visit Living Rheum on ReachMD.com, where you can Be Part of the Knowledge. Thanks for listening!