Medicine

Joseph Rahimian, MD, on the Nonpulmonary Complications of COVID-19

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) are becoming an increasing concern for many patients with a history of COVID-19 infection.1 Moreover, these symptoms are often nonpulmonary in nature. As part of Consultant360’s “COVID-19 Research Briefs” webinar series, Joseph Rahimian, MD, discussed “Non-Pulmonary Complications of COVID-19.”2 We caught up with Dr Rahimian after the webinar to find out more.

Joseph Rahimian, MD, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York, New York.

Consultant360: In your practice, what are the most common symptoms of COVID-19 you have seen with your patients?
Joseph Rahimian: I do both outpatient and inpatient work. Outpatients will often present with fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, and so on. With the hospitalized patients, we primarily see respiratory difficulty and shortness of breath. 


C360: We are beginning to understand some of the long-term complications of COVID-19. What do you think will be the most lasting or severe complications of COVID-19?
JR: As with some other viruses, the prolonged fatigue/malaise is one of the biggest longer-term complications I am seeing. We are seeing many patients who do not feel “back to normal” for many weeks after their initial infection. 


C360: Which nonpulmonary complications of COVID-19 have you seen the most in your day-to-day practice? How are you managing them?
JR: There is a long list of nonpulmonary complications we have seen, including neurologic, cardiac, dermatological, and so on.1 One of the hardest things about this virus is that for many of these complications, there is no easy fix or treatment, and for many patients it takes quite some time for symptom improvement. 

 

C360: Have you treated any patients experiencing PASC? How are these patients presenting, and how are these sequelae affecting their daily lives?
JR: We have seen some of these patients in my practice. Many of them feel run down, easily fatigued, have “brain fog,” with many of the symptoms we have seen after infections such as Epstein-Barr virus. Patients sometimes come in several weeks after their initial infection. Many are frustrated by the ongoing issues. This is an area of interest that many providers are trying to understand better, and hopefully we will see more research and gain more understanding on the optimal management of such cases

 

References

  1. Amos A. Long haulers: the post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) that last. Consultant360. Published online March 5, 2021. https://www.consultant360.com/exclusive/consultant360/long-haulers-covid-19-symptoms-last
  2. Rahimian J. Non-pulmonary complications of COVID-19 [webinar]. Consultant360. March 10, 2021. https://webinars.hmp1.com/registration/46