Skip to main content
Top
Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2022

01-12-2022 | Long-COVID Syndrome | Opinion

Studying the post-COVID-19 condition: research challenges, strategies, and importance of Core Outcome Set development

Authors: Daniel Munblit, Timothy R. Nicholson, Dale M. Needham, Nina Seylanova, Callum Parr, Jessica Chen, Alisa Kokorina, Louise Sigfrid, Danilo Buonsenso, Shinjini Bhatnagar, Ramachandran Thiruvengadam, Ann M. Parker, Jacobus Preller, Sergey Avdeev, Frederikus A. Klok, Allison Tong, Janet V. Diaz, Wouter De Groote, Nicoline Schiess, Athena Akrami, Frances Simpson, Piero Olliaro, Christian Apfelbacher, Regis Goulart Rosa, Jennifer R. Chevinsky, Sharon Saydah, Jochen Schmitt, Alla Guekht, Sarah L. Gorst, Jon Genuneit, Luis Felipe Reyes, Alan Asmanov, Margaret E. O’Hara, Janet T. Scott, Melina Michelen, Charitini Stavropoulou, John O. Warner, Margaret Herridge, Paula R. Williamson

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2022

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

A substantial portion of people with COVID-19 subsequently experience lasting symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, and neurological complaints such as cognitive dysfunction many months after acute infection. Emerging evidence suggests that this condition, commonly referred to as long COVID but also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or post-COVID-19 condition, could become a significant global health burden.

Main text

While the number of studies investigating the post-COVID-19 condition is increasing, there is no agreement on how this new disease should be defined and diagnosed in clinical practice and what relevant outcomes to measure. There is an urgent need to optimise and standardise outcome measures for this important patient group both for clinical services and for research and to allow comparing and pooling of data.

Conclusions

A Core Outcome Set for post-COVID-19 condition should be developed in the shortest time frame possible, for improvement in data quality, harmonisation, and comparability between different geographical locations. We call for a global initiative, involving all relevant partners, including, but not limited to, healthcare professionals, researchers, methodologists, patients, and caregivers. We urge coordinated actions aiming to develop a Core Outcome Set (COS) for post-COVID-19 condition in both the adult and paediatric populations.
Literature
5.
go back to reference Meeting the challenge of long COVID. Nat Med 2020, 26(12):1803. Meeting the challenge of long COVID. Nat Med 2020, 26(12):1803.
11.
go back to reference Chevinsky JR, Tao G, Lavery AM, Kukielka EA, Click ES, Malec D, et al. Late conditions diagnosed 1-4 months following an initial COVID-19 encounter: a matched cohort study using inpatient and outpatient administrative data - United States, March 1-June 30, 2020. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;73(Supplement_1):S16. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab338.CrossRef Chevinsky JR, Tao G, Lavery AM, Kukielka EA, Click ES, Malec D, et al. Late conditions diagnosed 1-4 months following an initial COVID-19 encounter: a matched cohort study using inpatient and outpatient administrative data - United States, March 1-June 30, 2020. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;73(Supplement_1):S16. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1093/​cid/​ciab338.CrossRef
12.
go back to reference Peluso MJ, Lu S, Tang AF, Durstenfeld MS, Ho HE, Goldberg SA, Forman CA, Munter SE, Hoh R, Tai V, Chenna A, Yee BC, Winslow JW, Petropoulos CJ, Greenhouse B, Hunt PW, Hsue PY, Martin JN, Daniel Kelly J, Glidden DV, Deeks SG, Henrich TJ. Markers of Immune Activation and Inflammation in Individuals With Postacute Sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection. J Infect Dis. 2021;224(11):1839–48. Peluso MJ, Lu S, Tang AF, Durstenfeld MS, Ho HE, Goldberg SA, Forman CA, Munter SE, Hoh R, Tai V, Chenna A, Yee BC, Winslow JW, Petropoulos CJ, Greenhouse B, Hunt PW, Hsue PY, Martin JN, Daniel Kelly J, Glidden DV, Deeks SG, Henrich TJ. Markers of Immune Activation and Inflammation in Individuals With Postacute Sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection. J Infect Dis. 2021;224(11):1839–48.
16.
34.
go back to reference Soriano JB, Murthy S, Marshall JC, Relan P, Diaz JV. WHO Clinical Case Definition Working Group on Post-COVID-19 Condition. A clinical case definition of post-COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021:S1473-3099(21)00703–9. Soriano JB, Murthy S, Marshall JC, Relan P, Diaz JV. WHO Clinical Case Definition Working Group on Post-COVID-19 Condition. A clinical case definition of post-COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021:S1473-3099(21)00703–9.
43.
go back to reference Michelen M, Manoharan L, Elkheir N, Cheng V, Dagens A, Hastie C, O'Hara M, Suett J, Dahmash D, Bugaeva P, Rigby I, Munblit D, Harriss E, Burls A, Foote C, Scott J, Carson G, Olliaro P, Sigfrid L, Stavropoulou C. Characterising long COVID: a living systematic review. BMJ Glob Health. 2021;6(9):e005427. Michelen M, Manoharan L, Elkheir N, Cheng V, Dagens A, Hastie C, O'Hara M, Suett J, Dahmash D, Bugaeva P, Rigby I, Munblit D, Harriss E, Burls A, Foote C, Scott J, Carson G, Olliaro P, Sigfrid L, Stavropoulou C. Characterising long COVID: a living systematic review. BMJ Glob Health. 2021;6(9):e005427.
Metadata
Title
Studying the post-COVID-19 condition: research challenges, strategies, and importance of Core Outcome Set development
Authors
Daniel Munblit
Timothy R. Nicholson
Dale M. Needham
Nina Seylanova
Callum Parr
Jessica Chen
Alisa Kokorina
Louise Sigfrid
Danilo Buonsenso
Shinjini Bhatnagar
Ramachandran Thiruvengadam
Ann M. Parker
Jacobus Preller
Sergey Avdeev
Frederikus A. Klok
Allison Tong
Janet V. Diaz
Wouter De Groote
Nicoline Schiess
Athena Akrami
Frances Simpson
Piero Olliaro
Christian Apfelbacher
Regis Goulart Rosa
Jennifer R. Chevinsky
Sharon Saydah
Jochen Schmitt
Alla Guekht
Sarah L. Gorst
Jon Genuneit
Luis Felipe Reyes
Alan Asmanov
Margaret E. O’Hara
Janet T. Scott
Melina Michelen
Charitini Stavropoulou
John O. Warner
Margaret Herridge
Paula R. Williamson
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02222-y

Other articles of this Issue 1/2022

BMC Medicine 1/2022 Go to the issue