Review [ME/CFS] as a complication of COVID-19 post-acute syndrome in adults. Bibliographic Review 2023 Carrillo Uguña and Orellana Romero

[Andy]

Abstract

According to the latest report from the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, CO-VID-19 currently presents a morbidity of 29.6 % and constituted 43.6 % of deaths worldwide. Although mortality rates have decreased considerably, many cases of patients with post-COVID sequelae have been reported around the world; in fact, more than 87 % of patients continue to experience at least one symptom two months after the onset of infec-tion.

The objective of the present review is to describe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome as a Com-plication of the post-acute syndrome of COVID-19 in Adults. Cases of survivors of COVID-19 have been reported who report the presence of sequelae, persisting for several months after being discharged. Data from post-acute COVID-19 patient reports and early observational studies suggest a syndrome similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, a chronic, multisystem disease that has been associated with other infections. Within the general population, the prevalence of chronic fatigue ranges between 10 and 40 %, while the ME/CFS association constitutes 0.17-0.89 % and is more common in females.

Open access, https://revistavertex.com.ar/ojs/index.php/vertex/article/view/507

 

[RedFox]

These authors are well-informed on ME/CFS. My translations are rough around the edges but give a good feel for the authors' views. I included the first few words from the original-language text to facilitate looking it up.
They're well aware ME/CFS is often poorly understood:

Millones de personas alrededor del mundo...
Millions of people all over the world have been affected by the chronic multisystem illness Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Although there is evidence it is common and incapacitating, medical curricula do not include information about ME/CFS, so doctors lack direction in clinical practice. Doctors who are ignorant of ME/CFS give it no legitimacy, and furthermore, standard tests generally come back normal. Due to the lack of information on this disorder, approximately 91% of affected people have been misdiagnosed with other conditions, usually depression, or even that this illness cannot be diagnosed. In some patients who are diagnosed, the situation is serious, as they do not get appropriate treatment, but cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) instead, which make their condition worse.

PEM is the main symptom:

El síntoma principal que caracteriza a la enfermedad...
The main symptom that characterizes the illness is post-exertional malaise (PEM), which was considered in the clinical diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS in 2015, by the National Academy of Medicine in the US.

There is discussion on the history of post-infectious syndromes, including the Spanish Flu and SARS, and the idea that ME/CFS may start when a virus triggers an abberant immune response.

Then they give a brief introduction to long Covid, including a literal translation of the term COVID long-haulers as "long-distance drivers", which sounds odd in Spanish.

They see a clear connection between ME/CFS and LC:

Los actuales estudios sobre este tema...
The recent studies on this subject have found a relationship between acute COVID-19 and the subsequent development of symptoms consistent with ME/CFS. Espinosa Rodriguez et al. (2022) mentioned that there are similarities between the International Consensus Criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis and the described symptoms of long COVID. Due to the possibility that COVID-19 may lead to a chronic illness like myalgic encephalomyelitis, it is essential to return to continuous and long-term monitoring of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. Likewise, Sukocheva et al. (2022) found that the onset, progression, and profile of symptoms of patients with post-COVID condition overlap substantially with ME/CFS, and in fact, these authors observed that multiple reports described a debilitating syndrome that appears three months after an infection with COVID-19, characterized by the presence of fatigue, headache, cognitive dysfunction, generalized post-exertional malaise, orthostatic intolerance and dyspnea.

Hilariously, the ME/CSF typo has found its way into Spanish. (This paper borrows ME/CFS from English, and the authentically Spanish acronym is EM/SFC):

Estos problemas son cada vez más importantes por-que después de la fase aguda de la COVID-19, un porcentaje significativo de personas permanece enferma durante muchos meses con una enfermedad similar a la ME/CSF.

Again, these problems are more important, because after the acute phase of COVID-19, a significant percentage of people remain ill for many months with an illness similar to ME/CSF.