Wir überwinden Grenzen

Long-Covid: First phase of the state-funded epidemiological study on permanent symptoms after an acute Covid-19 infection successfully launched - questionnaires returned now can still be considered

At the beginning of September, the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and the health authorities of Freiburg/Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Emmendingen launched the study funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg on delayed recovery and permanent symptoms after an acute Covid-19 infection. The last questionnaires have now been sent out to people who fell ill with coronavirus in these regions last winter.

"We very much hope and ask that everyone who has not yet done so will complete and return the questionnaire," says Prof. Dr. Winfried Kern, head of the study at the Department of Medicine I at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "A very high participation rate is important in order to be representative and to be able to provide more reliable information on this clinical picture than before," adds Dr. Oliver Kappert, Head of the Freiburg/Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Health Department. The questions should always be answered even if the infection was mild and/or all symptoms have completely disappeared.

The survey asks for information about the SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time, the development of symptoms to date and the current health situation and quality of life. Completing the questionnaire takes no longer than 15 minutes. A postage-free return envelope is enclosed. The project was launched in the regions around Freiburg, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm. The researchers are confident that this large population-based study in Baden-Württemberg will quickly contribute to a better understanding of the disease and the development of treatment options.

About the EPILOC study

A number of patients report delayed recovery and persistent symptoms for weeks to months after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to chest pain and shortness of breath, the main symptoms are exhaustion during physical exertion as well as concentration and memory disorders. This clinical picture - often referred to as "Long-Covid" - and its treatment have not yet been well researched. The university hospitals in Baden-Württemberg have therefore set up special outpatient clinics for the care of these people, but also for better research into Long Covid. The state government is now funding the so-called EPILOC study, in which the type and frequency of long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19 are to be determined more precisely - with the hoped-for goal of developing effective therapies. In the first phase, questionnaires were sent out to former COVID-19 sufferers by selected health authorities in the catchment area of the university hospitals. The questionnaires are to be evaluated soon, but can still be accepted at present. Patients with particularly pronounced Long Covid syndrome will then be invited to an outpatient examination at the respective university hospital. The diagnostic tests, which can then be used to investigate the symptoms in more detail, will also be offered to former SARS-CoV-2 patients without such symptoms. By comparing the results in these two groups, the scientists are trying to find out which factors could be responsible for the long-lasting symptoms and lack of recovery in long-Covid patients. Participation in the survey and the subsequent examinations is voluntary.