Publications by authors named "R Mervyn Letts"
Importance: Classification of persons with long COVID (LC) or post-COVID-19 condition must encompass the complexity and heterogeneity of the condition. Iterative refinement of the classification index for research is needed to incorporate newly available data as the field rapidly evolves.
Objective: To update the 2023 research index for adults with LC using additional participant data from the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER-Adult) study and an expanded symptom list based on input from patient communities.
Research institutions often lack policies addressing the risks and benefits of enrolling "invested parties" such as investigators, research staff, and patient, caregiver, and community representatives (groups most affected by a disease or intervention) in studies where they have direct involvement. Invested parties may have both strong motivations to study the condition or intervention and to participate as study subjects. More guidance is needed to promote appropriate access to research participation and mitigate potential risks.
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- Research highlights a critical gap in understanding long COVID (PASC) in children and emphasizes the need for studies that define its characteristics in this age group.
- The objective is to identify common prolonged symptoms in children aged 6 to 17 post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, examining differences between school-age kids and adolescents, as well as potential symptom clusters for future research.
- A multicenter study involved nearly 5,000 participants, revealing that certain symptoms were significantly more prevalent in those with a history of COVID-19 compared to those without.
Article Synopsis
- The study aims to identify clinical laboratory markers associated with postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) due to a lack of validated biomarkers.
- Conducted with 10,094 participants across 83 sites, the research compared laboratory measures between those with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and analyzed the impact of PASC indices on these measures.
- Results showed participants with prior infection had lower platelet counts and higher levels of hemoglobin A and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio, but these differences were minor and not significant among those with PASC.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant medical, social, and economic impacts globally, both in the short and long term. Although most individuals recover within a few days or weeks from an acute infection, some experience longer lasting effects. Data regarding the postacute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (PASC) in children, or long COVID, are only just emerging in the literature.
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