Post-COVID-19 complications are on the rise. Ever since the initial flattening of the curve of infections in May 2020, otolaryngologists throughout the Mount Sinai Health System have seen an increasing number of patients with a history of COVID-19 infection present with voice and breathing complications. At least once a week physicians evaluate patients with difficulty breathing who had previously been intubated due to COVID-19, as well as others who, despite experiencing only mild symptoms from the virus, report chronic cough, hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing.
To better address the needs of this growing patient population, physicians within the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have formed a COVID-19 Airway Collaborative to research the effects of the virus on the upper airway structures such as the larynx and trachea.