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

• Main Authors: Michael Peluso (Author), Khamal Anglin (Author), Matthew S. Durstenfeld (Author), Jeffrey N. Martin (Author), J. Daniel Kelly (Author), Priscilla Y. Hsue (Author), Timothy J. Henrich (Author), Steven G. Deeks (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Case Western Reserve University, 2022-06-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

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.

Item Description

10.20411/pai.v7i1.518
2469-2964