Abstract
Health consequences that persist beyond the acute infection phase of COVID-19, termed post-COVID-19 condition (also commonly known as long COVID), vary widely and represent a growing global health challenge. Research on post-COVID-19 condition is expanding but, at present, no agreement exists on the health outcomes that should be measured in people living with the condition. To address this gap, we conducted an international consensus study, which included a comprehensive literature review and classification of outcomes for post-COVID-19 condition that informed a two-round online modified Delphi process followed by an online consensus meeting to finalise the core outcome set (COS). 1535 participants from 71 countries were involved, with 1148 individuals participating in both Delphi rounds. Eleven outcomes achieved consensus for inclusion in the final COS: fatigue; pain; post-exertion symptoms; work or occupational and study changes; survival; and functioning, symptoms, and conditions for each of cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous system, cognitive, mental health, and physical outcomes. Recovery was included a priori because it was a relevant outcome that was part of a previously published COS on COVID-19. The next step in this COS development exercise will be to establish the instruments that are most appropriate to measure these core outcomes. This international consensus-based COS should provide a framework for standardised assessment of adults with post-COVID-19 condition, aimed at facilitating clinical care and research worldwide.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 715-724 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Lancet Respir Med |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 14 Jun 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:There was no funding for the first stage of the Post-COVID-19 Condition Core Outcome Set (PC-COS) study; the second stage of the PC-COS study is funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR; grant COV-LT2-0072). DM has received grants from the British Embassy in Moscow, the NIHR, and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. TN and PRW have received funding from the NIHR. We thank all participants of the consensus development process, and particularly the people with lived experience of post-COVID-19 condition and their carers (a full list of participants wishing to be acknowledged is included in appendix 1, pp 45–52 ); WHO for their collaboration; the translators who provided translation of all English materials to four additional languages; Marjorie Williamson, Valeria Sluzhevskaya, Guo Xiao Yuan, and Ilya Kalinin for their assistance with translation; Aleksandra Pokrovskaya and Nile Saunders for their help with preparation of participant information sheets; Mike Clarke for his work as an independent facilitator of the online interactive consensus meeting; Heather Barrington, Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Patient and Public Coordinator, for delivering the consensus pre-meeting for people with post-COVID-19 condition and their carers; the COMET People and Patient Participation, Involvement and Engagement working group; the COMET Management Group; and Sara Brookes for developing and sharing the slide set used in the pre-meeting. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium, the NIHR, or WHO.
Funding Information:
There was no funding for the first stage of the Post-COVID-19 Condition Core Outcome Set (PC-COS) study; the second stage of the PC-COS study is funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR; grant COV-LT2-0072). DM has received grants from the British Embassy in Moscow, the NIHR, and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. TN and PRW have received funding from the NIHR. We thank all participants of the consensus development process, and particularly the people with lived experience of post-COVID-19 condition and their carers (a full list of participants wishing to be acknowledged is included in appendix 1, pp 45–52); WHO for their collaboration; the translators who provided translation of all English materials to four additional languages; Marjorie Williamson, Valeria Sluzhevskaya, Guo Xiao Yuan, and Ilya Kalinin for their assistance with translation; Aleksandra Pokrovskaya and Nile Saunders for their help with preparation of participant information sheets; Mike Clarke for his work as an independent facilitator of the online interactive consensus meeting; Heather Barrington, Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Patient and Public Coordinator, for delivering the consensus pre-meeting for people with post-COVID-19 condition and their carers; the COMET People and Patient Participation, Involvement and Engagement working group; the COMET Management Group; and Sara Brookes for developing and sharing the slide set used in the pre-meeting. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium, the NIHR, or WHO.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 World Health Organization. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
