Long Covid/Post-Acute-Covid Syndrome as a‘hybrid condition’-A common framework for patients’ experience and pathophysiology
AUTHORS
Dirk RichterAnastasia Theodoridou
Pre-print, accessed December 2021
Abstract
While hundreds of thousands of patients suffer from Long Covid/Post-Acute Covid-Syndrome, the condition still remains a medical conundrum. Patients’ experiences and symptoms cannot always be linked to a pathophysiological mechanism. We present a hypothesis that depicts Long Covid as a hybrid condition, which means that pathophysiology and patients’ experience are partly due to different causal pathways. On the background of neuroscience and philosophy of science research, we propose to consider the infection per se as an ‘indifferent kind’ and patients’ experiences as an ‘interactive kind’. Interactive kinds represent the interactions between the human brain, psychological experiences and sociocultural factors. This approach allows the integration of the subjective experience of Long Covid patients and the pathophysiology into a common framework. Practically, this framework may help to prevent sufferers from experiencing a devaluation of their perspective. Long Covid/Post-Acute Covid Syndrome is a real medical condition and affected patients are truly sick.
https://psyarxiv.com/8k7vt/
AUTHORS
Dirk RichterAnastasia Theodoridou
Pre-print, accessed December 2021
Abstract
While hundreds of thousands of patients suffer from Long Covid/Post-Acute Covid-Syndrome, the condition still remains a medical conundrum. Patients’ experiences and symptoms cannot always be linked to a pathophysiological mechanism. We present a hypothesis that depicts Long Covid as a hybrid condition, which means that pathophysiology and patients’ experience are partly due to different causal pathways. On the background of neuroscience and philosophy of science research, we propose to consider the infection per se as an ‘indifferent kind’ and patients’ experiences as an ‘interactive kind’. Interactive kinds represent the interactions between the human brain, psychological experiences and sociocultural factors. This approach allows the integration of the subjective experience of Long Covid patients and the pathophysiology into a common framework. Practically, this framework may help to prevent sufferers from experiencing a devaluation of their perspective. Long Covid/Post-Acute Covid Syndrome is a real medical condition and affected patients are truly sick.
https://psyarxiv.com/8k7vt/