Southampton is part of a new £8.4 million study to investigate the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 on hospitalised patients.
A major UK research study into the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 on hospitalised patients has been launched, with Southampton a participating site.
National priority research
The PHOSP-COVID study has been awarded £8.4 million jointly by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This study is one of a number of COVID-19 studies that have been given urgent public health research status by the Department of Health and Social Care.
NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) will share expertise in respiratory and critical care, nutrition and lifestyle and infectious diseases with a national consortium of leading researchers and clinicians from across the UK to assess the impact of COVID-19 on patients’ health and their recovery.
Around 10,000 patients are expected to take part in the study, led by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (a partnership of the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust), making it one of the largest comprehensive studies in the world to understand and improve the health of survivors after hospitalisation from COVID-19.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “As we continue our fight against this global pandemic, we are learning more and more about the impact the disease can have not only on immediate health, but longer-term physical and mental health too. This world-leading study is another fantastic contribution from the UK's world-leading life sciences and research sector. It will also help to ensure future treatment can be tailored as much as possible to the person.”
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “As well as the immediate health impacts of the virus it is also important to look at the longer term impacts on health, which may be significant. We have rightly focused on mortality, and what the UK can do straight away to protect lives but we should also look at how COVID-19 impacts on the health of people after they have recovered from the immediate disease. This UKRI and NIHR funded study is one of the first steps in doing this.”
Chris Brightling, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leicester, Consultant Respiratory Physician at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, and chief investigator for the study said: “As we emerge from the first wave of the pandemic, we have new insights into the acute phase of this disease but very little information about patients’ long term needs. It is vitally important that we rapidly gather evidence on the longer term consequences of contracting severe COVID-19 so we can develop and test new treatment strategies for them and other people affected by future waves of the disease.”
Investigating the long-term effects
Symptoms of COVID-19 have varied among those who have tested positive; some have displayed no symptoms, while others have developed severe pneumonia and sadly even lost their lives.
For those who were hospitalised and have since been discharged, it is not yet clear what the medical, psychological and rehabilitation needs for this group of patients will be to enable them to make as full a recovery as possible.
Patients on the study will be assessed using techniques such as advanced imaging, data collection and analysis of blood and lung samples, creating a comprehensive picture of the impact COVID-19 has had on longer term health outcomes across the UK.
Mark Jones, Associate Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton, said: “There is a huge clinical need to understand the longer term effects of COVID-19. I am really pleased that our patients will be able to benefit from this research which is made possible by the close working of clinicians and researchers through the BRC.”
The PHOSP-COVID team will then develop trials of new strategies for clinical care, including personalised treatments for groups of patients based on the particular disease characteristics they show as a result of having COVID-19 to improve their long term health.
UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive, Professor Ottoline Leyser, said: “We have much to learn about the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 and its management in hospital, including the effects of debilitating lung and heart conditions, fatigue, trauma and the mental health and wellbeing of patients.
“UKRI is collaborating with NIHR to fund one of the world’s largest studies to track the long-term effects of the virus after hospital treatment, recognising that for many people survival may be just the start of a long road to recovery. This study will support the development of better care and rehabilitation and, we hope, improve the lives of survivors.”
To follow the study as it develops, visit http://www.phosp.org.
Posted on Wednesday 22 July 2020