ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Otolaryngologists Have a Major Role to Play in Treating COVID-19 Long-Haulers

by Jennifer Fink • January 15, 2021

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

One year into the coronavirus pandemic, it’s clear that COVID-19 can cause lingering health problems.

You Might Also Like

  • Emotional Disturbance May Be a Central Nervous System Manifestation of COVID-19
  • AAO-HNSF 2012: Otolaryngologists Can Play a Larger Role in Treating Chronic Cough
  • Adding Smell Tests May Enhance COVID-19 Detection Practices
  • Anosmia Linked to Milder Form of COVID-19
Explore This Issue
January 2021

Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies initially cast COVID-19 as an acute illness, we now know that some patients continue to suffer disturbing symptoms months after their initial infection. Persistent loss of taste and smell, continued shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, headaches, chest pain, mental fogginess, joint pain … the list of possible long-haul COVID-19 symptoms is nearly as long and diverse as the official list of acute COVID-19 symptoms.

According to an August 2020 article published in The Journal of Infection, approximately 30% of previously employed patients who were hospitalized in France with COVID-19 weren’t back to work after three months because their continuing symptoms interfered with their ability to function in daily life (J Infect. 2020;81:E4-E6).

Otolaryngologists may play an important role in helping COVID-19 long haulers regain function and quality of life. As medical professionals with extensive experience in managing conditions affecting the nose, mouth, and throat, otolaryngologists are uniquely positioned to help patients heal after COVID-19 infection.

Long-Haul COVID-19 Basics

© Blue Planet Studio / shutterstock.com

© Blue Planet Studio / shutterstock.com

At present, it seems that people with persistent symptoms post-COVID-19 infection can be roughly classified into two separate groups: those who have readily apparent organ damage and those who do not. Patients who experienced COVID-19-related heart damage, for instance, may develop cardiomyopathy, cardiac sarcoidosis, or heart failure. Exercise intolerance after an acute COVID-19 infection may be due to scarring of the lungs and damage to the alveoli.

Some patients with continuing symptoms don’t show any evidence of organ damage, however. They may feel short of breath, but their lung scans are normal. These patients are often “extremely frustrated” because their medical team can’t find any physical evidence of dysfunction and don’t know how to address or ease the patient’s symptoms, said Jonathan Aviv, MD, clinical director of the Voice and Swallowing Center‚ a division of ENT and Allergy Associates, Tarrytown, N.Y. Many of these patients can’t definitively prove a history of COVID-19 infection, as testing wasn’t widely available at the beginning of the pandemic.

It’s imperative that physicians listen to patients and take their complaints seriously. “We don’t know everything about this disease,” said Andrew Tassler, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. “So, if people report symptoms that aren’t known issues with COVID-19, I think you have to respect it and look into it.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features, Home Slider Tagged With: COVID19, patient care, treatmentIssue: January 2021

You Might Also Like:

  • Emotional Disturbance May Be a Central Nervous System Manifestation of COVID-19
  • AAO-HNSF 2012: Otolaryngologists Can Play a Larger Role in Treating Chronic Cough
  • Adding Smell Tests May Enhance COVID-19 Detection Practices
  • Anosmia Linked to Milder Form of COVID-19

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Why Virtual Grand Rounds May Be Here to Stay
    • Otolaryngologist Leverages His Love of Pinball into Second Business
    • These New Imaging Advances May Help to Protect Parathyroids
    • Is the Training and Cost of a Fellowship Worth It? Here’s What Otolaryngologists Say
    • Which Otologic Procedures Poses the Greatest Risk of Aerosol Generation?

Polls

Have you used 3D-printed materials in your otolaryngology practice?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.