COVID-19 guidance for health professionals
Long COVID is a new illness which healthcare professionals are still learning about.
The National Institute for Health and Care Alliance (NICE) has developed guidance for healthcare professionals so they know how best to help people. They've developed definitions for talking about the long-term effects of COVID-19. These are also used by the NHS:
- acute COVID-19. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that last for up to 4 weeks. Acute refers to the first signs of infection rather than the severity of the illness
- ongoing symptomatic COVID-19. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 from 4 weeks up to 12 weeks
- post COVID-19 syndrome. Signs and symptoms which develop during or after an infection that's consistent with COVID 19, and continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by another diagnosis. It usually presents with clusters of symptoms, often overlapping, which can fluctuate and change over time and can affect any system in the body
The term ‘long COVID’ is now commonly used by health professionals to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute COVID-19. It includes both ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (from 4 to 12 weeks) and post-COVID-19 syndrome (12 weeks or more).