SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and University Health are recruiting COVID-19 survivors for a federally funded study.
Researchers need 900 adults for a study that aims to understand why some people have prolonged symptoms or returning symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19. The terms “long-haul COVID” and “long COVID” are commonly used to describe the condition.
The South Texas study is called “Prevention, Evaluation and Incidence of Long-Term COVID in South Texas” (PREVAIL South Texas) and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery” (RECOVER) Initiative, according to a press release from UT Health.
The Laredo Health Department is also partnering in the study which will follow patients for up to four years.
According to UT Health, the most common lingering symptoms include pain, headaches, fatigue, “brain fog,” shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, fever, chronic cough and sleep problems.
Health science center faculty seeing patients at University Health and the Laredo partners will also examine:
- Social determinants, such as ethnicity and income, and how they might impact PASC and its persistence.
- Psychological disorders induced by COVID-19 disease.
- Metabolic issues and dysfunction of cellular power plants called mitochondria.
- Organ injury, with emphasis on the heart, lung and kidney.
You can learn more about the PREVAIL South Texas study on UT Health’s website, or by calling 210-567-5262 or visiting RECOVER-TX.ORG.