Long COVID and ME/CFS—A Systemic Review and Comparison of Clinical Presentation and Symptomatology, 2021, Wong and Weizer

Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)—A Systemic Review and Comparison of Clinical Presentation and Symptomatology

Abstract
Background and Objectives: Long COVID defines a series of chronic symptoms that patients may experience after resolution of acute COVID-19. Early reports from studies with patients with long COVID suggests a constellation of symptoms with similarities to another chronic medical illness—myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

A review study comparing and contrasting ME/CFS with reported symptoms of long COVID may yield mutualistic insight into the characterization and management of both conditions.

Materials and Methods: A systemic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE and PsycInfo through to 31 January 2021 for studies related to long COVID symptomatology. The literature search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA methodology.

Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the qualitative analysis. Long COVID symptoms reported by the included studies were compared to a list of ME/CFS symptoms compiled from multiple case definitions. Twenty-five out of 29 known ME/CFS symptoms were reported by at least one selected long COVID study.

Conclusions: Early studies into long COVID symptomatology suggest many overlaps with clinical presentation of ME/CFS. The need for monitoring and treatment for patients post-COVID is evident. Advancements and standardization of long COVID research methodologies would improve the quality of future research, and may allow further investigations into the similarities and differences between long COVID and ME/CFS.

full text available

https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/5/418

 

I am currently reading this paper. I note that the author are from a department of psychiatry of a School of osteopathic medicine. That doesn't ring well in my ears.

Then there is the assertion that the IOM was organized to reduce stigma.

Then they assert that ME is linked to elevated morning cortisol:

The reference attached to this quote is this paper and it sounds to me that hypocortisolism is more prevalent than elevated serum cortisol.

I am totally annoyed by the "chronic fatigue" terminology used and it has been confusing because they said that "chronic fatigue" is prevalent in 10-40% of the US population. Chronic fatigue as a symptom, maybe. But not the disease. If it is to be a systematic. review, I expect the authors got their terminology right, and their citations accurate.

I concur.

Lim et al. is this paper

Basically they were looking at the constellation of symptoms across multiple case definitions.

This is key:

This was in regards to the 6 months duration for the ME case definitions

They quoted Drs Komaroff and Bateman

Music to my ears. No psychiatry, no gaslighting.

 

Are you sure about that? If it were recognized already, physicians would not be berating patients that it’s all in their heads and they should start a regimented rehab program.

From our point of view of well seasoned patients, we have seen it all along as it happened. But from the media point of view, from the family practitioners point of view, they may not know that most of the symptoms experienced by their patients are not new, that this is a post viral condition. There is so much education that needs to happen out there, but from my point of view, there is more research to be done in comparing Long COVID patients to a post viral illness patients- wouldn’t that be interesting to dig deep into freezers and get blood from early onset ME for a longitudinal study?

this paper, while not perfect, is a good starting point for non-ME professionals, clinicians and researchers.

 

But isn't that the point of a systematic review? To survey the previous papers and point out the common themes.