Persistent ill health after acute COVID-19—referred to as long COVID, the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, or the post-COVID-19 condition—has emerged as a major concern. We undertook an international consensus exercise to identify research priorities with the aim of understanding the long-term effects of acute COVID-19, with a focus on people with pre-existing airways disease and the occurrence of new-onset airways disease and associated symptoms. 202 international experts were invited to submit a minimum of three research ideas. After a two-phase internal review process, a final list of 98 research topics was scored by 48 experts. Patients with pre-existing or post-COVID-19 airways disease contributed to the exercise by weighting selected criteria. The highest-ranked research idea focused on investigation of the relationship between prognostic scores at hospital admission and morbidity at 3 months and 12 months after hospital discharge in patients with and without pre-existing airways disease. High priority was also assigned to comparisons of the prevalence and severity of post-COVID-19 fatigue, sarcopenia, anxiety, depression, and risk of future cardiovascular complications in patients with and without pre-existing airways disease. Our approach has enabled development of a set of priorities that could inform future research studies and funding decisions. This prioritisation process could also be adapted to other, non-respiratory aspects of long COVID.

急性 COVID-19 后持续出现的健康状况不佳（称为长期 COVID、急性 COVID-19 综合征或 COVID-19 后病症）已成为一个主要问题。我们开展了一项国际共识活动，以确定研究重点，旨在了解急性 COVID-19 的长期影响，重点关注已患有气道疾病的人以及新发气道疾病和相关症状的发生。 202 名国际专家受邀提交至少三个研究想法。经过两阶段的内部评审过程，48位专家对98个研究课题进行了最终评分。患有新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 之前或之后气道疾病的患者通过权衡选定的标准来参与这项练习。排名最高的研究想法侧重于调查患有或不患有气道疾病的患者入院时的预后评分与出院后 3 个月和 12 个月的发病率之间的关系。还高度重视比较患有和不患有气道疾病的患者的 COVID-19 后疲劳、肌肉减少症、焦虑、抑郁的患病率和严重程度以及未来心血管并发症的风险。我们的方法已经制定了一系列优先事项，可以为未来的研究和资助决策提供信息。这种优先级排序过程也可以适用于长期新冠肺炎的其他非呼吸方面。