Long-COVID: Managing Pain Symptoms & Recovery

Learning Objectives

As a result of participating in this activity, learners will be better able to:

• Recognize the symptoms of long COVID
• Identify influencing factors in the structures and systems of care that contribute to iatrogenic harm for persons with PASC
• Evaluate and treat pain in these patients
• Implement strategies to help improve long term COVID over time
• Assess for MCAS in post-acute COVID patients

PASC Fatigue Treatment Recommendations: "The Four Ps"

• Pacing
  • Avoiding the push and crash cycle that is common in post-COVID recovery
• Prioritizing
  • Encourages a patient to focus and decide on which activities need to get done and which activities can be postponed to avoid overexertion and crashing
• Positioning
  • Modifying activities to make them easier to perform
• Planning
  • Encourages the patient to plan the day or week to avoid overexertion and to recognize energy windows

Accreditation & Designation

Release date: This activity was released 8/20/2022.

Termination date: The content of this activity remains eligible for CME Credit until 8/19/2025, unless reviewed or amended prior to this date.

Claiming Credit: Watch the entire presentation and complete the Improvement Plan/Evaluation.

Neurovations Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Neurovations Education designates this other activity (blended learning) for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

California Required CME on Pain Management and the Appropriate Treatment of the Terminally Ill
AB487 requires physicians licensed in California to complete a one-time CME activity for 12 hours of credits that addresses both pain management and the appropriate care and treatment of the terminally ill. This activity contributes to achievement of requirements with AB487.

ABA MOCA
This activity contributes to the patient safety CME requirement for Part II: Lifelong Learning and SelfAssessment of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s (ABA) redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program® (MOCA®), known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, www.theaba.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements

Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology® and MOCA® are registered certification marks of the American Board of Anesthesiology®

Disclosure of Financial Relationships & Measures to Resolve of Conflicts of Interest

[Presenter] Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez discloses the following financial relationships within the past 24 months: Research: Ipsen; Consulting: Allergan, Merz, Ipsen; Speaking: Allergan, Merz, Ipsen, Piramal, Medtronic

No other person with control of, or responsibility for, the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education has, or has had within the past 24 months, financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. Materials were reviewed in advance of the activity by person(s) that do not have conflicts of interest related to the content. In some cases, content may have been modified as part of the review and mitigation process. All clinical recommendations are evidence-based and free of commercial bias (e.g., peer-reviewed literature, adhering to evidence-based practice guidelines).

Additional Reading

• Oaklander, A. L., Mills, A. J., Kelley, M., Toran, L. S., Smith, B., Dalakas, M. C., & Nath, A. (2022). Peripheral Neuropathy Evaluations of Patients With Prolonged Long COVID. Neurology-Neuroimmunology Neuroinflammation, 9(3).
• Chrousos, G. P., & Kaltsas, G. (2005). Post‐SARS sickness syndrome manifestations and endocrinopathy: how, why, and so what?. Clinical Endocrinology, 63(4), 363.
• Nath, A. (2020). Long-haul COVID. Neurology, 95(13), 559-560.
• Shiers, S., Ray, P. R., Wangzhou, A., Sankaranarayanan, I., Tatsui, C. E., Rhines, L. D., ... & Price, T. J. (2020). ACE2 and SCARF expression in human DRG nociceptors: implications for SARS-CoV-2 virus neurological effects. Pain, 161(11), 2494.
• Moldofsky, H., & Patcai, J. (2011). Chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, depression and disordered sleep in chronic post-SARS syndrome; a case-controlled study. BMC neurology, 11(1), 1-7.
• Attal, N., Martinez, V., & Bouhassira, D. (2021). Potential for increased prevalence of neuropathic pain after the COVID-19 pandemic. Pain reports, 6(1).
• Chrousos, G. P., & Kaltsas, G. (2005). Post‐SARS sickness syndrome manifestations and endocrinopathy: how, why, and so what?. Clinical endocrinology, 63(4), 363.
• Liu, Y., Sawalha, A. H., & Lu, Q. (2021). COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases. Current Opinion in Rheumatology, 33(2), 155.
• Faye, A. S., Lee, K. E., Laszkowska, M., Kim, J., Blackett, J. W., McKenney, A. S., ... & Lebwohl, B. (2021). Risk of adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients with autoimmune disease and COVID-19: a matched cohort study from New York City. The Journal of Rheumatology, 48(3), 454-462.
• Hong, N., & Du, X. K. (2004). Avascular necrosis of bone in severe acute respiratory syndrome. Clinical Radiology, 59(7), 602-608.
• Zhang, S., Wang, C., Shi, L., & Xue, Q. (2021). Beware of Steroid-Induced Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head in the Treatment of COVID-19—Experience and Lessons from the SARS Epidemic. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 15, 983.
• Michelen, M., Manoharan, L., Elkheir, N., Cheng, V., Dagens, A., Hastie, C., ... & Stavropoulou, C. (2021). Characterising long COVID: a living systematic review. BMJ global health, 6(9), e005427.
• Lancet, T. (2021). Understanding long COVID: a modern medical challenge. Lancet (London, England), 398(10302), 725.
• Cascella, M., Del Gaudio, A., Vittori, A., Bimonte, S., Del Prete, P., Forte, C. A., ... & De Blasio, E. (2021). COVID-Pain: Acute and Late-Onset Painful Clinical Manifestations in COVID-19–Molecular Mechanisms and Research Perspectives. Journal of Pain Research, 14, 2403.
• Dani, M., Dirksen, A., Taraborrelli, P., Torocastro, M., Panagopoulos, D., Sutton, R., & Lim, P. B. (2021). Autonomic dysfunction in ‘long COVID’: rationale, physiology and management strategies. Clinical Medicine, 21(1), e63.
• de Araújo, A. L., da Silva Duarte, A. J., Levin, A. S., Guedes, B. F., Kallas, E. G., Pinna, F. R., ... & HCFMUSP PASC Initiative. (2021). Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): a protocol for a multidisciplinary prospective observational evaluation of a cohort of patients surviving hospitalisation in Sao Paulo, Brazil. BMJ Open, 11(6), e051706.
• Raveendran, A. V., Rajeev Jayadevan, and S. Sashidharan. "Long COVID: an overview." Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews 15, no. 3 (2021): 869-875.
• Nath, A., & Smith, B. (2021). Neurological issues during COVID-19: An overview. Neuroscience Letters, 742, 135533.
• Goss, A. L., Samudralwar, R. D., Das, R. R., & Nath, A. (2021). ANA investigates: neurological complications of COVID‐19 vaccines. Annals of Neurology, 89(5), 856.
• Bierle, D. M., Aakre, C. A., Grach, S. L., Salonen, B. R., Croghan, I. T., Hurt, R. T., & Ganesh, R. (2021). Central sensitization phenotypes in post acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): defining the post COVID syndrome. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 12, 21501327211030826.
• Groff, D., Sun, A., Ssentongo, A. E., Ba, D. M., Parsons, N., Poudel, G. R., ... & Chinchilli, V. M. (2021). Short-term and long-term rates of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review. JAMA Network Open, 4(10)
• Hoshijima, H., Mihara, T., Seki, H., Hyuga, S., Kuratani, N., & Shiga, T. (2021). Incidence of Long-term Post-acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Related to Pain and Other Symptoms: A Living Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. medRxiv.