A clinical approach to the investigation and management of long COVID associated neuropathic pain

Rajish Sanjit Kumar Shil; Thomas William Hughes; Brendan Francis Sargent; Yun Huang; Arina Anna Tamborska; Bernhard Frank; Mark Alexander Ellul; Benedict Daniel Michael

doi:10.1007/s00406-023-01721-8

A clinical approach to the investigation and management of long COVID associated neuropathic pain

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024 Dec;274(8):1787-1795. doi: 10.1007/s00406-023-01721-8. Epub 2023 Dec 8.

Authors

Rajish Sanjit Kumar Shil^{1

2

3

4}, Thomas William Hughes^{5

6}, Brendan Francis Sargent^{5

7

8}, Yun Huang^{5

9

10}, Arina Anna Tamborska^{5

9

10}, Bernhard Frank^{11

12}, Mark Alexander Ellul^{5

9

10}, Benedict Daniel Michael^{5

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. rajishsk@liverpool.ac.uk.
² Department of Neurology, Walton Centre of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Liverpool, UK. rajishsk@liverpool.ac.uk.
³ Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK. rajishsk@liverpool.ac.uk.
⁴ National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. rajishsk@liverpool.ac.uk.
⁵ Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
⁶ Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
⁷ Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Walton Centre of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Liverpool, UK.
¹⁰ National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
¹¹ Department of Pain Medicine, Walton Centre of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Liverpool, UK.
¹² Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Pain Research Institute, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Abstract

COVID-19 has been associated with a wide range of ongoing symptoms following recovery from the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Around one in three people with COVID-19 develop neurological symptoms with many reporting neuropathic pain and associated symptoms, including paraesthesia, numbness, and dysesthesia. Whilst the pathophysiology of long COVID-19-associated neuropathic pain remains unclear, it is likely to be multifactorial. Early identification, exclusion of common alternative causes, and a biopsychosocial approach to the management of the symptoms can help in relieving the burden of disease and improving the quality of life for patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Long Covid; Neuropathy; Pain; Paraesthesia.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / complications
Humans
Neuralgia* / etiology
Neuralgia* / therapy
Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding