UK team target treatment for long-term health effects

BRITISH scientists running the largest global study into the long-term health effects of Covid-19 hope to pinpoint specific drugs that reduce the risk of developing problems such as lung damage and blood clotting.

The study will follow 10,000 patients discharged from hospital for up to 25 years, but researchers hope that within a few months they will have made discoveries that will alter the course of treatment for anyone falling ill during a potential second wave.

Prof Chris Brightling, from Leicester University, who is leading the post-hospitalisation study, known as PHospCovid, said he hoped to determine whether the use of blood thinning treatments could be beneficial, for example, or the use and timing of specific exercise strategies.

“This is not just about collecting information, it’s about how to design the next stage of studies for intervention, making a difference,” he said. “If we don’t start finding solutions to the problem, then this isn’t enough.”

Increasing numbers of post-Covid patients are reporting symptoms weeks and months after having the virus.

Research suggests one in three could be harmed for life, with long-term damage to their lungs, as well as chronic fatigue and psychological disturbances, while NHS guidance warns that around 30 per cent of patients who recover from Covid-19 may be left with damaged and scarred lung tissue, if it follows patterns of similar diseases.

The PHosp-Covid study will track participants’ health through clinic and GP visits and questionnaires, as well as some blood and urine samples or scans. Prof Brightling said researchers would look at the use of dexamethasone, which has been found to cut the risk of death for patients on a ventilator by a third, and azithromycin, an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, and consider their potential long-term effects.

The team hope to report some findings in the autumn.