Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) tissue pathology study protocol: Rationale, objectives, and design
Troxel, AB; Bind, MC; Flotte, TJ; et. al. RECOVER Initiative Autopsy Group, PLOS ONE
Published
January 2024
Journal
PLOS ONE
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms or organ dysfunction after the acute phase of infection, termed Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), or long COVID. The characteristics, prevalence, trajectory and mechanisms of PASC are poorly understood. The objectives of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) tissue pathology study (RECOVER-Pathology) are to: (1) characterize prevalence and types of organ injury/disease and pathology occurring with PASC; (2) characterize the association of pathologic findings with clinical and other characteristics; (3) define the pathophysiology and mechanisms of PASC, and possible mediation via viral persistence; and (4) establish a post-mortem tissue biobank and post-mortem brain imaging biorepository.
Authors
Andrea B Troxel, Marie-Abele C Bind, Thomas J Flotte, Carlos Cordon-Cardo, Lauren A Decker, Aloke V Finn, Robert F Padera, R Ross Reichard, James R Stone, Natalie L Adolphi, Faye Victoria C Casimero, John F Crary, Jamie Elifritz, Arline Faustin, Saikat Kumar B Ghosh, Amanda Krausert, Maria Martinez-Lage, Jonathan Melamed, Roger A Mitchell, Barbara A Sampson, Alan C Seifert, Aylin Simsir, Cheryle Adams, Stephanie Haasnoot, Stephanie Hafner, Michelle A Siciliano, Brittany B Vallejos, Phoebe Del Boccio, Michelle F Lamendola-Essel, Chloe E Young, Deepshikha Kewlani, Precious A Akinbo, Brendan Parent, Alicia Chung, Teresa C Cato, Praveen C Mudumbi, Shari Esquenazi-Karonika, Marion J Wood, James Chan, Jonathan Monteiro, Daniel J Shinnick, Tanayott Thaweethai, Amber N Nguyen, Megan L Fitzgerald, Alice A Perlowski, Lauren E Stiles, Moira L Paskett, Stuart D Katz, Andrea S Foulkes,
Keywords
Adult; Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Cross-Sectional Studies; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Disease Progression; Risk Factors
Short Summary
A COVID-19 infection can lead to new symptoms, or symptoms that do not go away. This condition is called Long COVID. RECOVER researchers are using tissue samples from people who died after having COVID to answer questions about Long COVID. To do this, they are studying donated samples from deceased people across the US to understand how the body changes when someone has Long COVID; what makes some people more likely to develop Long COVID, such as where a person lives and their age, race, and sex; and what happens in the body of someone who had Long COVID. This paper is important because it can show other scientists how to do their own research on Long COVID in people who have died.