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Long COVID, also known as "post-acute sequelae of COVID-19," affects at least 65 million individuals worldwide with a wide spectrum of symptoms that may last weeks, months, or permanently. Its epidemiology and burden in Africa are unclear. This meta-analysis examines long-term COVID-19 effects in the WHO African Region. A systematic search in several databases was carried out up to 12 February 2023 including observational studies from African countries reporting the cumulative incidence of long COVID signs and symptoms. Only studies conducted in African countries were included. Several sensitivity and meta-regression analyses were performed. Among 1547 papers initially screened, 25 were included, consisting of 29,213 participants. The incidence of any long COVID symptomatology was 48.6% (95% CI 37.4–59.8) as psychiatric conditions were the most frequent, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder reaching a cumulative incidence of 25% (95% CI 21.1–30.4). Higher age (p = 0.027) and hospitalization (p = 0.05) were associated with a higher frequency of long COVID. Long COVID poses a significant burden in Africa, particularly concerning psychiatric conditions. The study recommends identifying at-risk people and defining treatment strategies and recommendations for African long-COVID patients. High-quality studies addressing this condition in African setting are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although the understanding of several aspects of long COVID-19 syndrome is increasing, there is limited literature regarding the treatment of these signs and symptoms. The aim of our systematic review was to understand which therapies have proved effective against the symptoms of long COVID-19. Methods: A systematic search for randomized controlled or clinical trials in several databases was conducted through 15 May 2022. Specific inclusion criteria included: (1) intervention studies, either randomized controlled (RCTs) or clinical trials; (2) diagnosis of long COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization criteria; (3) presence of long COVID-19 for at least 12 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: We initially found 1638 articles to screen. After removing 1602 works based on their title/abstract, we considered 35 full texts, and among them, two intervention studies were finally included. The first RCT focused on the greater improvement of treatment combining olfactory rehabilitation with oral supplementation with Palmitoylethanolamide and Luteolin in patients with olfactory dysfunction after COVID-19. The second study evaluated the positive impact of aromatherapy vs. standard care in adult females affected by fatigue. Conclusion: Our systematic review found only two intervention studies focused on patients affected by long COVID-19. More intervention studies are needed to investigate potentially positive interventions for long COVID-19 symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]