Association of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir with post-acute sequelae and mortality in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study

Long COVID: a clinical update

Post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID) is generally defined as symptoms persisting for 3 months or more after acute COVID-19. Long COVID can affect multiple organ systems and lead to severe and protracted impairment of function as a result of organ damage. The burden of this disease, both on the individual and on health systems and national economies, is high. In this interdisciplinary Review, with a coauthor with lived experience of severe long COVID, we sought to bring together multiple streams of literature on the epidemiology, pathophysiology (including the hypothesised mechanisms of organ damage), lived experience and clinical manifestations, and clinical investigation and management of long COVID. Although current approaches to long COVID care are largely symptomatic and supportive, recent advances in clinical phenotyping, deep molecular profiling, and biomarker identification might herald a more mechanism-informed and personally tailored approach to clinical care. We also cover the organisation of services for long COVID, approaches to preventing long COVID, and suggestions for future research.

Is Antiviral Treatment with Remdesivir at the Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Effective for Decreasing the Risk of Long-Lasting Post-COVID Symptoms?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of administrating Remdesivir at the acute COVID-19 phase on developing post-COVID symptoms in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors by controlling factors such as age, sex, body mass index, and vaccination status. A case-control study was performed. Hospitalized COVID-19 survivors who had received intravenous Remdesivir during the acute phase (n = 216) were matched by age, sex, body mass index, and vaccination status with survivors who did not receive antiviral treatment (n = 216). Participants were asked to self-report the presence of any post-COVID symptom (defined as a symptom that started no later than three months after infection) and whether the symptom persisted at the time of study (mean: 18.4, SD: 0.8 months). Anxiety levels (HADS-A), depressive symptoms (HADS-D), sleep quality (PSQI), and severity/disability (FIC) were also compared. The multivariate analysis revealed that administration of Remdesivir at the acute COVID-19 phase was a protective factor for long-term COVID development (OR0.401, 95%CI 0.256-0.628) and specifically for the following post-COVID symptoms: fatigue (OR0.399, 95%CI 0.270-0.590), pain (OR0.368, 95% CI 0.248-0.548), dyspnea at rest (OR0.580, 95%CI 0.361-0.933), concentration loss (OR0.368, 95%CI 0.151-0.901), memory loss (OR0.399, 95%CI 0.270-0.590), hair loss (OR0.103, 95%CI 0.052-0.207), and skin rashes (OR0.037, 95%CI 0.005-0.278). This study supports the potential protective role of intravenous administration of Remdesivir during the COVID-19 acute phase for long-lasting post-COVID symptoms in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.