Nirmatrelvir During Acute SARS-CoV-2 Does Not Reduce Risk for Long COVID
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2024 -- Treatment with nirmatrelvir during acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is not associated with a reduced risk for subsequent development of long COVID, according to a study published online Jan. 4 in the Journal of Medical Virology.
Matthew S. Durstenfeld, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues conducted an observational cohort study involving 100,000 participants to examine whether nirmatrelvir treatment during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection reduces the risk for developing long COVID. A total of 4,684 individuals met the eligibility criteria: 21.1 percent were treated and 78.9 percent were untreated. Overall, 353 of 988 treated and 1,258 of 3,696 untreated participants responded to a survey regarding long COVID.
The researchers found that nirmatrelvir treatment was not associated with subsequent symptoms of long COVID at 5.4 ± 1.3 months after infection (odds ratio, 1.15; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.80 to 1.64; P = 0.45). Rebound symptoms or test positivity were not associated with symptoms of long COVID among the 666 treated individuals who answered the rebound questions (odds ratio, 1.34; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 2.41; P = 0.33).
"Our finding that Paxlovid treatment during acute infection is not associated with lower odds of long COVID surprised us, but it is consistent with two other rigorously conducted studies finding no difference in post-COVID conditions between four and six months after infection," Durstenfeld said in a statement.
One author disclosed serving as a consultant for AstraZeneca and Gilead Sciences.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted January 2024
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
No Decline in Cardiovascular Events Seen With COVID-19 Vaccine After Acute Coronary Syndromes
MONDAY, June 3, 2024 -- Patients who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose after acute coronary syndromes do not have a reduced risk for cardiovascular events...
Mortality Higher for COVID-19 Hospitalization Than for Flu in 2023/2024 Season
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 -- In fall/winter 2023/2024, the risk for death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was greater than the risk for death in patients hospitalized for...
Global Life Expectancy, Disease Burden Set to Keep Improving
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 -- Life expectancy and age-standardized disease burden are expected to continue improving between 2022 and 2050, according to the Global Burden of Disease...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.