Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series
Abstract Background Prior case series suggest that a 5-day course of oral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) benefits some people with Long COVID, within and/or outside of the context of an acute reinfection. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior case series of people with Long COVID...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00668-8 |
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| author | Alison K. Cohen Toni Wall Jaudon Eric M. Schurman Lisa Kava Julia Moore Vogel Julia Haas-Godsil Daniel Lewis Samantha Crausman Kate Leslie Siobhan Christine Bligh Gillian Lizars JD Davids Saniya Sran Michael Peluso Lisa McCorkell |
| author_facet | Alison K. Cohen Toni Wall Jaudon Eric M. Schurman Lisa Kava Julia Moore Vogel Julia Haas-Godsil Daniel Lewis Samantha Crausman Kate Leslie Siobhan Christine Bligh Gillian Lizars JD Davids Saniya Sran Michael Peluso Lisa McCorkell |
| author_sort | Alison K. Cohen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Prior case series suggest that a 5-day course of oral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) benefits some people with Long COVID, within and/or outside of the context of an acute reinfection. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior case series of people with Long COVID who have attempted longer courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Methods We documented a case series of 13 individuals with Long COVID who initiated extended courses (>5 days; range: 7.5–30 days) of oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside (n = 11) of and within (n = 2) the context of an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants reported on symptoms and health experiences before, during, and after their use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Results Among those who take an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside of the context of an acute infection, some experience a meaningful reduction in symptoms, although not all benefits persist. Others experience no effect on symptoms. One participant stopped early due to intense stomach pain. For the two participants who took an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir within the context of an acute reinfection, both report eventually returning to their pre-re-infection baseline. Conclusions Extended courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may have meaningful benefits for some people with Long COVID but not others. We encourage researchers to study how and why nirmatrelvir/ritonavir benefits some and what course length is most effective, with the goal of informing clinical recommendations for using nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and/or other antivirals as a potential treatment for Long COVID. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-013f35d2c2e5458b8cad72e4d7e17b5e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2730-664X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-013f35d2c2e5458b8cad72e4d7e17b5e2025-01-12T12:37:13ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Medicine2730-664X2025-01-01411910.1038/s43856-024-00668-8Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case seriesAlison K. Cohen0Toni Wall Jaudon1Eric M. Schurman2Lisa Kava3Julia Moore Vogel4Julia Haas-Godsil5Daniel Lewis6Samantha Crausman7Kate Leslie8Siobhan Christine Bligh9Gillian Lizars10JD Davids11Saniya Sran12Michael Peluso13Lisa McCorkell14Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco and Patient-Led Research CollaborativePatient-Led Research Collaborative & University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesIndependent scholarPatient-Led Research CollaborativeScripps Research Translational Institute and Patient-Led Research CollaborativeIndependent scholarPatient-Led Research CollaborativeIndependent scholarIndependent scholarIndependent scholarIndependent scholarStrategies for High Impact/Long COVID Justice, Patient-Led Research CollaborativeIndependent scholarDivision of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, University of California San FranciscoPatient-Led Research CollaborativeAbstract Background Prior case series suggest that a 5-day course of oral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) benefits some people with Long COVID, within and/or outside of the context of an acute reinfection. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior case series of people with Long COVID who have attempted longer courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Methods We documented a case series of 13 individuals with Long COVID who initiated extended courses (>5 days; range: 7.5–30 days) of oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside (n = 11) of and within (n = 2) the context of an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants reported on symptoms and health experiences before, during, and after their use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Results Among those who take an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside of the context of an acute infection, some experience a meaningful reduction in symptoms, although not all benefits persist. Others experience no effect on symptoms. One participant stopped early due to intense stomach pain. For the two participants who took an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir within the context of an acute reinfection, both report eventually returning to their pre-re-infection baseline. Conclusions Extended courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may have meaningful benefits for some people with Long COVID but not others. We encourage researchers to study how and why nirmatrelvir/ritonavir benefits some and what course length is most effective, with the goal of informing clinical recommendations for using nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and/or other antivirals as a potential treatment for Long COVID.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00668-8 |
| spellingShingle | Alison K. Cohen Toni Wall Jaudon Eric M. Schurman Lisa Kava Julia Moore Vogel Julia Haas-Godsil Daniel Lewis Samantha Crausman Kate Leslie Siobhan Christine Bligh Gillian Lizars JD Davids Saniya Sran Michael Peluso Lisa McCorkell Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series Communications Medicine |
| title | Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series |
| title_full | Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series |
| title_fullStr | Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series |
| title_short | Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series |
| title_sort | impact of extended course oral nirmatrelvir ritonavir in established long covid a case series |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00668-8 |
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