Thus, prolonged treatment with Paxlovid appears to help some patients with long COVID, particularly those who struggle with particularly debilitating symptoms, including brain fog, severe headaches, respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Lead author Dr. Michael Peluso, a researcher in the UCSF Long COVID and Infectious Disease Research Program, added: “If we have learned anything over the past 4 years, it is that COVID long is a complex syndrome. Some patients benefit from antiviral treatment, others do not, we must accept this complexity and treat the millions of people who suffer from long COVID in a more personalized way.”
It is true that previous studies have failed to show that the antiviral can relieve persistent symptoms of the disease.
Paxlovid is therefore not a miracle solution, but can help many patients
The study is carried out, via interviews with patients presenting specific symptoms and having received the drug at different doses. Most of the participants were members of the Patient-Led Research Collaborativea group of patients with long COVID and other associated chronic diseases or complications.
The researchers also closely followed 13 patients as they underwent prolonged Paxlovid treatment, to test whether it might work better for specific symptoms or at different stages of the disease. Strains of SARS-CoV-2 were taken into account in the analysis. Experience reveals that:
- 5 of the 13 patients experienced a lasting reduction in their symptoms;
- others temporary respites;
- some no improvement.
- No severe adverse effects have been observed with the drug.
In conclusionwith its more than 200 symptoms, long COVID remains difficult to define, diagnose and treat. But, in some patients, especially those with severe symptoms, the antiviral may work significantly. It is therefore a question of testing and adapting the treatment, depending on the patient, their symptoms and their response to the medication.
