Prevalence and determinants of persistent symptoms after infection with SARS-CoV-2: protocol for an observational cohort study (LongCOVID-study)

IntroductionA substantial proportion of individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), report persisting symptoms weeks and months following acute infection. Estimates on prevalence vary due to differences in study designs, populations, heterogeneity of sympt...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2022-07, Vol.12 (7), p.e062439-e062439
Main Authors: Mutubuki, Elizabeth N, van der Maaden, Tessa, Leung, Ka Yin, Wong, Albert, Tulen, Anna D, de Bruijn, Siméon, Haverman, Lotte, Knoop, Hans, Franz, Eelco, van Hoek, Albert Jan, van den Wijngaard, Cees C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cohort analysis
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Dyspnea
epidemiology
health economics
Illnesses
Immunization
Infections
Infectious Diseases
Observational studies
Population
Quality of life
Questionnaires
Registration
Self report
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:IntroductionA substantial proportion of individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), report persisting symptoms weeks and months following acute infection. Estimates on prevalence vary due to differences in study designs, populations, heterogeneity of symptoms and the way symptoms are measured. Common symptoms include fatigue, cognitive impairment and dyspnoea. However, knowledge regarding the nature and risk factors for developing persisting symptoms is still limited. Hence, in this study, we aim to determine the prevalence, severity, risk factors and impact on quality of life of persisting symptoms in the first year following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods and analysisThe LongCOVID-study is both a prospective and retrospective cohort study being conducted in the Netherlands, with a one year follow-up. Participants aged 5 years and above, with self-reported positive or negative tests for SARS-CoV-2 will be included in the study. The primary outcome is the prevalence and severity of persistent symptoms in participants that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared with controls. Symptom severity will be assessed for fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength (CIS subscale fatigue severity)), pain (Rand-36/SF-36 subscale bodily pain), dyspnoea (Medical Research Council (mMRC)) and cognitive impairment (Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ)). Secondary outcomes include effect of vaccination prior to infection on persistent symptoms, loss of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and risk factors for persisting symptoms following infection with SARS-CoV-2.Ethics and disseminationThe Utrecht Medical Ethics Committee (METC) declared in February 2021 that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) does not apply to this study (METC protocol number 21-124/C). Informed consent is required prior to participation in the study. Results of this study will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062439