loading page

Pharmacotherapy from pre-COVID to post-COVID: longitudinal trends and predictive indicators for long COVID symptoms
  • +6
  • Nadia Baalbaki,
  • Sien Verbeek,
  • Harm Jan Bogaard,
  • Jelle Blankestijn,
  • Vera van den Brink,
  • Merel Cornelissen,
  • Jos Twisk,
  • Korneliusz Golebski,
  • Anke Hilse Maitland-Van der Zee
Nadia Baalbaki
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Sien Verbeek
Amsterdam UMC
Author Profile
Harm Jan Bogaard
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile
Jelle Blankestijn
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile
Vera van den Brink
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile
Merel Cornelissen
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile
Jos Twisk
Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc
Author Profile
Korneliusz Golebski
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile
Anke Hilse Maitland-Van der Zee
Amsterdam UMC Location AMC
Author Profile

Abstract

Aim: Approximately 10% of all COVID-19 cases experience persistent symptoms after the acute infection phase, a condition known as long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. Approved prevention and treatment options for long COVID are currently lacking. Given the heterogeneous nature of long COVID, a personalized medicine approach is essential for effective disease management. This study aimed to describe trends in pharmacotherapy from pre-COVID to post-COVID phases to gain insights into COVID-19 treatment strategies and assess whether pre-COVID pharmacotherapy can predict long COVID symptoms as a health status indicator. Methods: In the Precision Medicine for more Oxygen (P4O2) – COVID-19 study, 95 long COVID patients were comprehensively evaluated through post-COVID outpatient clinics and study visits. The study focused on descriptive analysis of the pharmacotherapy patterns across different phases: pre-COVID-19, acute COVID, and post-COVID. Furthermore, associations between pre-COVID medication and long COVID outcomes were analyzed with regression analyses. Results: We observed peaks in the use of certain medications during the acute infection phase, including corticosteroids and antithrombotic agents, with a decrease in the use of renin-angiotensin inhibitors. Consistent high use of alimentary tract medications was noted across all phases. Notably, pre-COVID respiratory medications were associated with fatigue symptoms, while antiinfectives and cardiovascular drugs were linked to fewer persisting long COVID symptom categories. Conclusion: Our findings provide longitudinal descriptive pharmacotherapy insights and suggest that medication history can be a valuable health status indicator in characterizing patients for personalized disease management strategies, addressing the heterogeneous nature of long COVID.