Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34036253›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2021

Characteristics and predictors of acute and chronic post-COVID syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Fahad M Iqbal, Kyle Lam, Viknesh Sounderajah, Jonathan M Clarke, Hutan Ashrafian, Ara Darzi

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05228691 (Long COVID), which is not on this map. Cited by 180 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
180citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
30.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05228691 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Long COVID: Evaluation of Physical and Functional Status

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorUniversity of Las Palmas de Gran CanariaRan2022 to 2026Enrolled600ConditionsCOVID-19ArmsEvaluation and Education
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

180 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 315 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Psychosocial Aspects of the Lived Experience of Long COVID: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Prevalence, risk factors and treatments for post-COVID-19 breathlessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022
    Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. ESCMID rapid guidelines for assessment and management of long COVID.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022
    Guideline
  10. Prevalence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome symptoms at different follow-up periods: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022
    Pooled it
  11. Guideline
  12. Pooled it
  13. Pooled it
  14. Long COVID Optimal Health Programme to Enhance Mental and Physical Health: A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025
    Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Prevalence of Long COVID inJournal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Post-COVID-19 physical and mental quality of life: a latent profile analysis and predictive factors.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article

120 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Fahad M IqbalDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK.
Kyle LamDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK.
Viknesh SounderajahDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK.
Jonathan M ClarkeInstitute of Global Health Innovation, Faculty Building, South Kensington Campus, Kensington SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
Hutan AshrafianDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK.
Ara DarziDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK.
St Mary's Hospital · GBEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_18032Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA significant proportion of individuals experience lingering and debilitating symptoms following acute COVID-19 infection. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have coined the persistent cluster of symptoms as post-COVID syndrome. This has been further sub-categorised into acute post-COVID syndrome for symptoms persisting three weeks beyond initial infection and chronic post-COVID syndrome for symptoms persisting beyond twelve weeks. The aim of this review was to detail the prevalence of clinical features and identify potential predictors for acute and chronic post-COVID syndrome.

methodsA systematic literature search, with no language restrictions, was performed to identify studies detailing characteristics and outcomes related to survivorship of post-COVID syndrome. The last search was performed on 6 March 2021 and all pre-dating published articles included. A means of proportion meta-analysis was performed to quantify characteristics of acute and chronic post-COVID syndrome. Study quality was assessed with a specific risk of bias tool. PROSPERO Registration: CRD42020222855.

findingsA total of 43 studies met the eligibility criteria; of which, 38 allowed for meta-analysis. Fatigue and dyspnoea were the most prevalent symptoms in acute post-COVID (0·37 and 0·35) and fatigue and sleep disturbance in chronic post-COVID syndrome (0·48 and 0·44), respectively. The available evidence is generally of poor quality, with considerable risk of bias, and are of observational design.

interpretationIn conclusion, this review highlights that flaws in data capture and interpretation, noted in the uncertainty within our meta-analysis, affect the applicability of current knowledge. Policy makers and researchers must focus on understanding the impact of this condition on individuals and society with appropriate funding initiatives and global collaborative research.

Indexed as

CoronavirusCOVID-19Long covidPost covid syndromeSARS-CoV 2Systematic review

Identifiers

PMID34036253
PMCPMC8141371
OpenAlexW3165522334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.