London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

A major UK research study into the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 on hospitalised patients has been launched.

The PHOSP-COVID study has been awarded £8.4million jointly by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This study is one of a number of COVID-19 studies that have been given urgent public health research status by the Department of Health and Social Care.

LSHTM will share expertise with a national consortium of leading researchers and clinicians from across the UK to assess the impact of COVID-19 on patients’ health and their recovery.

Around 10,000 patients are expected to take part in the study led by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre – a partnership of the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, making it one of the largest comprehensive studies in the world to understand and improve the health of survivors after hospitalisation from COVID-19.

LSHTM is one of the partners working on this study – drawing on expertise from researchers from the Faculties of Public Health and Policy, Infectious and Tropical Diseases and the CureME research group.

Dr Michael Marks, Associate Professor at LSHTM and a co-investigator on this study, said: “We are currently seeing the devastating effects COVID-19 can have in the short term, but this global pandemic threatens to have long term impacts on health which are, as yet, unknown. Our work aims to provide the definitive data on the long-term needs of patients recovering from COVID-19 to inform policy for clinical services and rehabilitate to help these patients in the long run.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “As we continue our fight against this global pandemic, we are learning more and more about the impact the disease can have not only on immediate health, but longer-term physical and mental health too.

“This world-leading study is another fantastic contribution from the UK's world-leading life sciences and research sector. It will also help to ensure future treatment can be tailored as much as possible to the person.”

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “As well as the immediate health impacts of the virus it is also important to look at the longer term impacts on health, which may be significant.

“We have rightly focused on mortality, and what the UK can do straight away to protect lives but we should also look at how COVID-19 impacts on the health of people after they have recovered from the immediate disease.

“This UKRI and NIHR funded study is one of the first steps in doing this.”

Symptoms of COVID-19 have varied among those who have tested positive: some have displayed no symptoms, while others have developed severe pneumonia and sadly even lost their lives. For those who were hospitalised and have since been discharged, it is not yet clear what the medical, psychological and rehabilitation needs for this group of patients will be to enable them to make as full a recovery as possible.

Patients on the study will be assessed using techniques such as advanced imaging, data collection and analysis of blood and lung samples, creating a comprehensive picture of the impact COVID-19 has had on longer term health outcomes across the UK.

The PHOSP-COVID team will then develop trials of new strategies for clinical care, including personalised treatments for groups of patients based on the particular disease characteristics they show as a result of having COVID-19 to improve their long term health.

The PHOSP-COVID study is widely supported across the NIHR infrastructure, including the Translational Research Collaborations for respiratory, mental health, cardiovascular, dementia, and diet, exercise and nutrition, and many of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, which are set up to translate lab-based scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies.

To follow the study as it develops, visit www.phosp.org.