Post-COVID Clinic

Currently, appointments through the Post-COVID Clinic are virtual – by phone and video. If you or your child tested positive for COVID and continue to have symptoms disrupting daily life activities four weeks after your diagnosis, call 216-957-3959 to schedule an appointment.

Those experiencing lingering symptoms less than four weeks after a positive COVID diagnosis should contact their primary care provider if they feel they need medical help.

According to the CDC, "many organs besides the lungs are affected by COVID-19 and there are many ways the infection can affect someone's health."

The CDC cites the following as the most common long-term symptoms being reported:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Joint pain
• Anxiety
• Chest pain

Other reported long-term symptoms include:

• Difficulty with thinking and concentration (sometimes referred to as "brain fog")
• Depression
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Intermittent fever
• Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)

The CDC cites the following more serious long-term complications being reported, though less common, affecting several organ systems including: 

• Cardiovascular: inflammation of the heart muscle
• Respiratory: lung function abnormalities
• Renal: acute kidney injury
• Dermatologic: rash, hair loss
• Neurological: smell and taste problems, sleep issues, difficulty with concentration, memory problems
• Psychiatric: depression, anxiety, changes in mood

MetroHealth's Post-COVID Clinic is currently staffed by a rheumatologist, a rheumatology nurse practitioner, a family medicine physician, and an internal medicine physician.

MetroHealth anticipates the need for the Post-COVID Clinic will grow based on published research and studies. One study out of Wuhan, China, found three out of four patients who had been hospitalized were reporting one or more symptoms six months after getting sick. Fatigue or muscle weakness and sleep issues were among the most frequent reported symptoms. Anxiety and depression were reported by 23% of patients in the study. You can find the study, which was published in The Lancet.