At this year’s ID Week conference in Boston, Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc, FIDSA, Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, shared the latest data that COVID-19 research team, RECOVER, has gathered on Long COVID and its symptoms.
The investigation to understand Long COVID, or post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is still on-going.
However, at this year’s ID Week conference in Boston, Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc, FIDSA, Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, shared the latest data that COVID-19 research team, RECOVER, has gathered on Long COVID and its symptoms.
Ofotokun is chair of the RECOVER (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery in adults) committee, which focuses on understanding the incidence, prevalence, clinical symptoms, organ dysfunction, natural history and biological mechanisms of sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
One of the recent studies Ofotokun presented and conducted by RECOVER was an ambi-directional longitudinal meta-cohort study, including individuals with and without COVID-19 of all ages and ethnicities. The study followed patients from one year into their COVID infection up to month 48.
Researchers made sure “the population groups affected the most were represented in the study,” Ofotokun said.
The participants were categorized into three tiers based on acute and post-acute symptoms, with standardized testing varying across the tiers.
In another study within RECOVER’s initiative earlier this year, approximately 9,764 participants were included to develop a definition of Long COVID.
Using a 3-step analysis, researchers identified 12 common symptoms associated with Long COVID, which included post-exertional malaise, fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, GI symptoms, palpitations, sexual desire or capacity, smell or taste issues, thirst, chronic cough, chest pain, and abnormal movements.
Key findings from this study revealed an estimated prevalence of Long COVID in the overall population of roughly 10%. Positivity for Long COVID was more common and associated with more severe manifestations in participants infected in the pre-Omicron era.
Additionally, fully vaccinated individuals showed a lower proportion of Long COVID positivity compared to unvaccinated participants.
Lastly, PASC positivity was more common among those who were reinfected compared to those with one reported infection, indicating a link between reinfections and Long COVID.
The electronic health record was also a component of RECOVER’s research.
EHRs have collected data from over 14 million individual patients and helped define clusters of Long COVID, revealing that it is not a homogeneous disease, Ofotokun shared.
Six different clusters were identified, relating to the prevalence of symptoms in different organ systems, including neurologic, metabolic and obesity-related, cardio, and more.
Ofotokun expressed there are ongoing analyses by RECOVER with around 40 independent studies planned.
Researchers are exploring sex differences in Long COVID, refining the definition by adding clinical risk and laboratory findings, and aligning findings from electronic health records with prospective observational studies, he added.
Additionally, investigations into Long COVID in different population groups across the lifespan, including pediatric, pregnant, and aging populations, are underway.
The understanding of Long COVID is expanding, with a high estimated prevalence of 10% or higher and the involvement of almost every organ system, RECOVER research found.
A Cup or Two of Joe a Day Could Keep COVID-19 Infection Away
November 19th 2023Coffee, rich in polyphenolic compounds like chlorogenic acid (CGA), caffeic acid (CAA), cafestol, melanoidins and trigonelline, has been recognized as a dominant source of CGA in various studies. Previous studies suggest that CGA in coffee can positively impact blood pressure, lipid profile, glycemia and insulin resistance.
Read More
In this episode, Peter Wehrwein, managing editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, speaks with Dr. Rodrigo Cerda. Dr. Cerda has been recently promoted to the position of senior vice president of health services and chief medical officer of Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. He is also a member of Managed Healthcare Executive’s editorial advisory board. Peter and Dr. Cerda discuss his new role at the Independence Blue Cross, what it means to be a chief medical officer at an insurer these days, valued-based care, social determinants of health, and, of course, the pandemic.
Listen
Virtual Urgent Care's Slight Impact on Emergency Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic
November 7th 2023A recent study revealed that virtual urgent care (VUC) had minimal impact on emergency department visits or hospital admissions in Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a significant number of study participants who initially sought virtual urgent care eventually attended an emergency department in person.
Read More
Briana Contreras, associate editor of MHE, spoke with Dr. Maria Hernandez, founder and CEO of Impact4Health. Maria shared not only how healthcare inequities remain to be an issue and what needs to be addressed, but also the progress that has been made over time through awareness, conversations and laws, especially due to the heightened awareness of inequities caused from the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more - which have now occurred over a year ago.
Listen
Prevalence of COVID-19 and Transmission Between Childcare Centers, Households is Low, Study Finds
October 26th 2023Authors of a recent JAMA Network Open study expressed there have been few reported COVID surveillance studies of childcare centers and none in the U.S. Authors stress that it's essential for policymakers to understand the real risk of COVID spread in CCCs and households so they can apply suitable mitigation measures if there were to be another surge or new variants to come about.
Read More
With Its Future in Doubt, One of the Architects Makes a Case for PEPFAR | IDWeek 2023
October 15th 2023Mark Dybul, M.D., the keynote speaker for the closing session of the IDWeek meeting in Boston, delivered an impassioned defense of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as its reauthorization by Congress has got ensnarled in abortion issues.
Read More