COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment impact on symptoms and post-COVID conditions among high-risk patients at a Federally Qualified Health Center

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 105
• Main Authors: Vawter, Natalie L, Godino, Job G, Lewis, Sydney V, Northrup, Adam W, Samaniego, Jane C, Poblete, Jacqueline Y, Guereca, Jesus A, Sharp, Sydney P, Matthews, Eva, Crespo, Noe C, Lucatero, Pauline G, Vidaurrazaga, Monica M, Ramers, Christian B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 22.02.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Clinical outcomes; Coronaviruses; Cough; COVID-19; COVID-19 symptoms; COVID-19 vaccines; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dosage and administration; Emergency medical care; Female; Fever; Headache; Hospitalization; Humans; Illnesses; Infections; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Mental health; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Patients; Poisson density functions; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Post-COVID conditions; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk groups; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Young Adult; California; United States; United States > US; COVID-19; Monoclonal antibodies; Post-COVID conditions; COVID-19 symptoms
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08057-7

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment for COVID-19 is associated with improved clinical outcomes. However, there is limited information regarding the impact of treatment on symptoms and the prevalence of post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Understanding of the association between time to mAb infusion and the development of PCC is also limited. This longitudinal study was conducted among patients with COVID-19 who received mAb infusions at a Federally Qualified Health Center in San Diego, CA. A series of telephone interviews were conducted at baseline and follow-up (14 days and 28+ days). A comprehensive symptom inventory was completed and physical and mental health status were measured using PROMIS-29 and PHQ-2. Pearson's Chi-squared tests and independent two-sample t-tests were performed to test for association between time to mAb infusion and outcomes at follow-up. A Poisson regression model was used to analyze whether time to mAb infusion predicts risk of developing PCC. Participants (N = 411) were 53% female, ranged in age from 16 to 92 years (mean 50), and a majority (56%) were Latino/Hispanic. Cross-sectional findings revealed a high symptom burden at baseline (70% of patients had cough, 50% had fever, and 44% had headache). The prevalence of many symptoms decreased substantially by the final follow-up survey (29% of patients had cough, 3% had fever, and 28% had headache). Longitudinal findings indicated that 10 symptoms decreased in prevalence from baseline to final follow-up, 2 remained the same, and 14 increased. The severity of symptoms and most patient-reported physical and mental health measure scores decreased over time. The prevalence of PCC was 69% when PCC was defined as ≥ 1 symptom at final follow-up. Time to mAb infusion was not significantly associated with any outcome at follow-up. Time to infusion was not associated with PCC status at final follow-up in the crude or adjusted Poisson regression models. The prevalence of PCC was high among this patient population following COVID-19 mAb treatment. Time to mAb infusion did not predict the development of PCC. Further research in these areas is essential to answer urgent clinical questions about effective treatments of COVID-19.