Effect of Oral Nirmatrelvir on Long COVID Symptoms: 4 Cases and Rationale for Systematic Studies
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Background: Efforts to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants, vaccine status, and treatment on the development and persistence of Long COVID have intensified. Methods: We report 4 sequential cases from a post-COVID cohort study demonstrating variability in outcomes following differentially timed nirmatrelvir therapy, received as part of clinical care. Results: In the first case, the participant experienced symptomatic rebound and developed Long COVID despite early initiation of antiviral therapy. In the next 2 cases, participants reported improvement in persistent COVID symptoms when nirmatrelvir was taken 25 and 60 days following initial symptom onset. In the final case, an individual with presumed Long COVID for 2 years reported substantial improvement in chronic symptoms when taking nirmatrelvir following SARS-CoV-2 re-infection. Conclusions: These anecdotes suggest that systematic study of antiviral therapy for Long COVID is warranted.
Source: Pathogens and Immunity
Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Awards: UCSF Career Development Program in Cardiopulmonary, Hematologic, and Immunologic Comorbidities of HIV (CHIC), Understanding the epidemiology and natural history of unrecognized Ebola virus infection, Targeting Non Viral Markers of HIV Persistence, G9000249980, Characterizing the virologic and immunologic signatures of HIV exceptional control
OpenAlex ID: W4283522760