Art has kindly given me permission to share this
How many Long COVID patients develop ME/CFS? Art Mirin, 8/20/22
Overview: Of the 5 studies of Long COVID patients below, 4 of them addressed ME/CFS onset (per case definition); the other looked at ME/CFS symptoms. Two of them used CCC, one used NAM, and the other Fukuda. The two that used CCC might not have been independent cohorts, as they were from the same facility in Germany with overlapping co-authors. Two of the four studies used patients with persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19. A third used patients with shortness of breath. The only study that did not control for symptoms (Bonilla, Stanford) used a cohort of 134 people and found 36% to satisfy the ME/CFS case definition.
Kedor C, Freitag H, Meyer-Arndt L, et al. Chronic COVID-19 Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) following the first pandemic wave in Germany – a first analysis of a prospective observational study. MedRxiv, Preprint 2021. Doi: 10.1101/2021.02.06.21249256.
Charite University Hospital 42 patients 45% ME/CFS (CCC) However, cohort is described as: “persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19”. That is, this is not a random sample of LC patients.
Haffke M, Freitag H, Rudolf G, et al. Endothelial dysfunction and altered endothelial biomarkers in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). J Transl Med 2022; 20(138). Doi: 10.1186/s12967-022-03346-2.
Charite University Hospital 30 patients 47% ME/CFS (CCC) Is this cohort separate from that of Kedor, et al (2021), which was published as a preprint? Kedor, et al. cites study evaluation period July-Nov 2020. Cannot find corresponding information here. Note too that the cohort is described as: “persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19”. That is, this is not a random sample of LC patients.
Mancini DM, Brunjes DL, Lala A, et al. Use of Cardiopulmonary Stress Testing for Patients with Unexplained Dyspnea Post-Coronavirus Disease. JACC: Heart Failure, 2021; 9(12):927-937. Doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2021.10.002.
Mt Sinai 41 patients 46% ME/CFS (Fukuda) “This was a prospective study of patients who had been reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positive for SARS-CoV-2 and who developed new and persistent shortness of breath for >3 months after recovery.” That is, this was not a random sampling of LC patients.
Bonilla H, Quach TC, Tiwari A, et al., Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is common in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): results from a post-COVID-19 multidisciplinary clinic. BMJ Yale Preprint, 2022. Doi: 10.1101/2022.08.03.22278363.
Stanford 134 patients 36% ME/CFS (NAM) Original cohort had 140 patients, but 6 excluded. 105 patients had symptoms longer than 6 months; of those, 46% satisfied ME/CFS case definition.
Twomey R, DeMars J, Franklin K, et al. Chronic Fatigue and Postexertional Malaise in People Living with Long COVID: An Observational Study. Phys. Ther. 2022; 102(4) pzac005. Doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzac005.
University of Calgary 213 patients Did not evaluate using ME/CFS case definition 71% had chronic fatigue, 59% PEM
How many Long COVID patients develop ME/CFS? Art Mirin, 8/20/22
Overview: Of the 5 studies of Long COVID patients below, 4 of them addressed ME/CFS onset (per case definition); the other looked at ME/CFS symptoms. Two of them used CCC, one used NAM, and the other Fukuda. The two that used CCC might not have been independent cohorts, as they were from the same facility in Germany with overlapping co-authors. Two of the four studies used patients with persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19. A third used patients with shortness of breath. The only study that did not control for symptoms (Bonilla, Stanford) used a cohort of 134 people and found 36% to satisfy the ME/CFS case definition.
Kedor C, Freitag H, Meyer-Arndt L, et al. Chronic COVID-19 Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) following the first pandemic wave in Germany – a first analysis of a prospective observational study. MedRxiv, Preprint 2021. Doi: 10.1101/2021.02.06.21249256.
Charite University Hospital 42 patients 45% ME/CFS (CCC) However, cohort is described as: “persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19”. That is, this is not a random sample of LC patients.
Haffke M, Freitag H, Rudolf G, et al. Endothelial dysfunction and altered endothelial biomarkers in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). J Transl Med 2022; 20(138). Doi: 10.1186/s12967-022-03346-2.
Charite University Hospital 30 patients 47% ME/CFS (CCC) Is this cohort separate from that of Kedor, et al (2021), which was published as a preprint? Kedor, et al. cites study evaluation period July-Nov 2020. Cannot find corresponding information here. Note too that the cohort is described as: “persistent moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance for more than six months after mild to moderate COVID-19”. That is, this is not a random sample of LC patients.
Mancini DM, Brunjes DL, Lala A, et al. Use of Cardiopulmonary Stress Testing for Patients with Unexplained Dyspnea Post-Coronavirus Disease. JACC: Heart Failure, 2021; 9(12):927-937. Doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2021.10.002.
Mt Sinai 41 patients 46% ME/CFS (Fukuda) “This was a prospective study of patients who had been reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positive for SARS-CoV-2 and who developed new and persistent shortness of breath for >3 months after recovery.” That is, this was not a random sampling of LC patients.
Bonilla H, Quach TC, Tiwari A, et al., Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is common in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): results from a post-COVID-19 multidisciplinary clinic. BMJ Yale Preprint, 2022. Doi: 10.1101/2022.08.03.22278363.
Stanford 134 patients 36% ME/CFS (NAM) Original cohort had 140 patients, but 6 excluded. 105 patients had symptoms longer than 6 months; of those, 46% satisfied ME/CFS case definition.
Twomey R, DeMars J, Franklin K, et al. Chronic Fatigue and Postexertional Malaise in People Living with Long COVID: An Observational Study. Phys. Ther. 2022; 102(4) pzac005. Doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzac005.
University of Calgary 213 patients Did not evaluate using ME/CFS case definition 71% had chronic fatigue, 59% PEM
