Effect of Oral Nirmatrelvir on Long COVID Symptoms: 4 Cases and Rationale for Systematic Studies

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 differentiall...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michael Peluso, Khamal Anglin, Matthew S. Durstenfeld, Jeffrey N. Martin, J. Daniel Kelly, Priscilla Y. Hsue, Timothy J. Henrich, Steven G. Deeks
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Case Western Reserve University 2022-06-01
Series:Pathogens and Immunity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.paijournal.com/index.php/paijournal/article/view/518
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:2469-2964