WEDNESDAY, Jan. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Extended-course nirmatrelvir/ritonavir yields a meaningful reduction in symptoms for some patients with long COVID, but not all benefits persist, according to a case series published online Jan. 6 in Communications Medicine.
Alison K. Cohen, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues documented a case series of 13 individuals with long COVID who initiated extended courses (more than five days; range, 7.5 to 30 days) of oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside of and within (11 and two individuals, respectively) the context of an acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection.
The researchers found that some of those taking an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir outside the context of an acute infection experienced a meaningful reduction in symptoms, but not all benefits persisted. No effect on symptoms was experienced by the other individuals in this group. Due to intense stomach pain, one participant stopped taking the medication early. Both participants who took an extended course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir within the context of an acute reinfection reported eventually returning to their pre-reinfection baseline.
“These cases provide strong rationale for the ongoing study of antivirals for long COVID to determine if, when, and how they should be used in this patient population,” the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Gilead Sciences and AstraZeneca.
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