The Infanta Leonor and 12 de Octubre hospitals, together with the Rey Juan Carlos University, are conducting two studies on the persistence of the virus in patients with persistent COVID.

The Internal Medicine Services of the Infanta Leonor and 12 de Octubre University Hospitals, part of the Community of Madrid Public Health Network, in collaboration with the Faculty of Physiotherapy of the Rey Juan Carlos University, are carrying out two studies that provide important information on the pathogenesis and possible treatments for patients with persistent Covid.

The first study analyzes the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in biological samples from patients with persistent COVID compared to controls. The study, “VIPER,” was recently published in the prestigious infectious disease journal, the Journal of Medical Virology.

This case-control study is unique in that it included patients with a long period of symptoms after the initial infection (an average of two years) and a control group of patients who remained asymptomatic after acute COVID illness.

The VIPER study assessed plasma, urine, and stool samples from 112 patients for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, a possible explanation for long-term persistent COVID symptoms. However, the results did not detect the presence of the virus in any of the samples, ruling out this avenue for answering the cause of this disease and, in turn, offering a simple and affordable diagnostic test for these patients. Moreover, if positive results were obtained, the door would open for new clinical trials of antiviral drugs.

A second study, also published in the prestigious journal Viruses, analyses the effect of treatment with the antiviral drug Remdesivir in 216 patients hospitalised with acute Covid on the subsequent development of symptoms compatible with Long Covid. The study shows positive results, indicating a protective effect of antiviral treatment in the acute phase of the disease. These results support one hypothesis, indicating that reducing the viral load in acute Covid disease may reduce the risk of persistent symptoms later in life.

These projects were made possible by close collaboration between research centers and the support of patient associations. In addition, previous collaboration between researchers in these studies has resulted in more than 25 international articles on persistent COVID, addressing epidemiological factors, disease evolution, and more specific aspects such as the impact of treatments such as antiviral drugs.