Over ten percent of people infected with the COVID virus will suffer with long COVID syndrome. Up until now, more than one million people have been affected with this syndrome in the United Kingdom alone, and the incidence worldwide is estimated to be more than 35 million people, although this may be the tip of the iceberg. The World Health Organization has highlighted a need for the three Rs – Recognition, Research and Rehabilitation. Long COVID syndrome can be frustrating and disabling, even many months or years after the infection; sufferers complain of fatigue, pain, post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunction and many other systemic symptoms. It can be challenging for healthcare professionals to recognise the disease and for patients who are suffering from the condition it can have a wide and far-reaching impact on their lives and day-to-day activities. Being a relatively new condition, many healthcare professionals, now more than ever, need to have the requisite knowledge to recognise and manage this severely debilitating disease. This book will be useful to all frontline healthcare professionals to help diagnose, manage and direct patients to the available resources. General practitioners, physiotherapists, pain therapists, nurses, surgeons, physicians, junior doctors, psychologists, medical students and other clinicians will be able to update their knowledge on long COVID syndrome with this easy-to-read book. Patients will also find the book useful to understand the basis of the disease and how they can seek help. This comprehensive treatise covers a wide variety of topics on long COVID syndrome including the aetiopathogenesis, recognition, systemic involvement, investigations, guidelines on management, available resources, systemic management and pain/fatigue management. This book will be handy for candidates preparing for various examinations conducted by the Royal College of General Practitioners, UK (MRCGP), Royal College of Anaesthetists, UK (FRCA), Faculty of Pain Medicine, UK (FFPMRCA), College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (FCAI), European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EDAIC), Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA), World Institute of Pain (FIPP/CIPS), National Board of Examinations of India (Dip NB), and the American and Canadian board examinations, as well as other examinations conducted by medical boards across the globe. The author is a consultant in pain medicine who has published extensively on various topics and specialises in treating long COVID patients. He has written many textbooks in the fields of anaesthesia and pain, and conducts regular examination courses attended by candidates from all over the world. He is also a regular invited lecturer on the specialist subject of long COVID syndrome.
