Research into Long Covid is gaining ground and understanding of this condition is developing. This week sees a BMJ blog article by Elaine Maxwell entitled ‘Unpacking Post Covid Symptoms’, in which she evaluates the evidence of Long Covid at this time. One study that she refers to is that of Daugherty and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.n1098) which found that certain conditions were more commonly diagnosed after covid-19 than after other viral lower respiratory tract infections and that enduring symptoms are more common in women, those living with social deprivation, and those with pre-existing comorbidities. Importantly, it also found that 10% of people were given new diagnoses over 3 weeks after the initial infection, thus supporting the findings from our own study that showed a delayed onset of long covid symptoms; with 49.4% having periods of apparent recovery and then symptoms returning, and 19.0% with a prolonged period of wellness followed by symptoms. Another very significant point made by Maxwell (2021) in the BMJ article is that “evidence is growing that children also experience long covid”, and this references the Italian study carried out by Buensenso, Munblit, De Rose et al. (2021) and the Osmanov, Spiridonova, Bobkova et al. (2021) study in Moscow. As we are currently working with bth Dr Buensenso and Dr Munblit, we are very proud of the work that we have all achieved in getting paediatric Long Covid to be recognised.
Frances Simpson.
References:
BMJ 2021;373:n1173
Buonsenso D, Munblit D, De Rose C, et al. Preliminary evidence on long COVID in children. Acta Paediatr2021. doi:10.1111/apa.15870. pmid:33835507CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
Buonsenso, D.; Espuny Pujol, F.; Munblit, D.; Mcfarland, S.; Simpson, F. Clinical Characteristics, Activity Levels and Mental Health Problems in Children with Long COVID: A Survey of 510 Children. Preprints 2021, 2021030271 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202103.0271.v1).
Daugherty SE, Guo Y, Heath K, et al. Risk of clinical sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection: retrospective cohort study. BMJ2021;373:n1098
↵Osmanov IM, Spiridonova E, Bobkova P, et al. Risk factors for long covid in previously hospitalised children using the ISARIC Global follow-up protocol: A prospective cohort study.medRxiv [Preprint] 2021. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.26.21256110v1Google Scholar
Frances Simpson is the Co founder of Long Covid Kids and a lecturer in Psychology and Counselling at Coventry University (SC.) She is also a sufferer of Long Covid and a founder member of the campaign group LongCovidSOS. She has two children, both with Long Covid since March.
LongCovidKids.org is a patient-led advocacy and support group for families of children with Long Covid. Our story started with a short film on long-lasting symptoms of Covid in children. We are working on The Long Covid Kids Study with PeopleWith
If your child experiences any symptoms that indicates they are unwell, it COULD be COVID-19, and you should get them a test to help identify if it is a current Covid infection. Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.