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COVID-19 and Long Covid: Organs Damage and Dysfunctions, and Implications for Clinical Course

Vinod Nikhra*

Affiliation(s): Senior Chief Medical Officer and Consultant, Department of Medicine, Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, New Delhi, India

Subject Category: Clinical Virology

Like any other infectious disease, the prognosis of COVID-19 is influenced by infecting agent, the SARS-CoV-2 virus load and the extent of organs affliction and damage. COVID-19 having a propensity for multiorgan involvement carries an adverse prognosis during the clinical course as well as later during the post-recovery period persisting as Long Covid. The direct cytopathic effects of SARS-CoV-2 virus and the erratic and hyper-inflammatory response lead to tissue injury in various organs coupled with physiological dysfunctions and complications. In fact, the multi-system manifestations of COVID-19 are caused by a combination of specific host defence responses with associated inflammatory activity and vascular involvement with coagulopathy and a distinct propensity to develop thromboembolic complications. Simultaneously, comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases influence the disease severity and mortality.

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