The Role of Palliative Care in Long COVID Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the U.S. health system, which has resulted in the loss of 1,044,461 lives (as of September 2022), per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, one in thirteen adults who were infected with COVID now suffer from long COVID symptoms, ranging from fatigue, cognitive impairment, mood disorder, and cardiopulmonary symptoms. The duration and clinical course of these symptoms can be unpredictable; for some people, they can lead to ongoing disability.

As clinics open to diagnose and treat long COVID, it is clear this group of patients has a high symptom burden. Palliative care has been proposed as a service that can help manage these patients and improve their quality of life.

In this presentation, Kimberly Angelia Curseen, MD, will demonstrate the role of palliative care in the management of people living with long COVID, and their families. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to implement evidence-based symptom management strategies for common long COVID symptoms.