ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Postviral syndromes (PVS) describe the sustained presence of symptoms following an acute viral infection, for months or even years. Exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and subsequent development of COVID-19 has shown to have similar effects with individuals continuing to exhibit symptoms for greater than 12 weeks. The sustained presence of symptoms is variably referred to as 'post COVID-19 syndrome', 'post-COVID condition' or more commonly 'Long COVID'. Knowledge of the long-term health impacts and treatments for Long COVID are evolving. To minimise overlap with existing work in the field exploring treatments of Long COVID, we have only chosen to focus on non-pharmacological treatments. AIMS: This review aims to summarise the effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments for PVS, including Long COVID. A secondary aim is to summarise the symptoms and health impacts associated with PVS in individuals recruited to treatment studies. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Primary electronic searches will be performed in bibliographic databases including: Embase, MEDLINE, PyscINFO, CINAHL and MedRxiv from 1 January 2001 to 29 October 2021. At least two independent reviewers will screen each study for inclusion and data will be extracted from all eligible studies onto a data extraction form. The quality of all included studies will be assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools and the Newcastle-Ottawa grading system. Non-pharmacological treatments for PVS and Long COVID will be narratively summarised and effect estimates will be pooled using random effects meta-analysis where there is sufficient methodological homogeneity. The symptoms and health impacts reported in the included studies on non-pharmacological interventions will be extracted and narratively reported. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review does not require ethical approval. The findings from this study will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication, shared at conference presentations and disseminated to both clinical and patient groups. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: The review will adhere to this protocol which has also been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021282074).
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Bias , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/therapy , Humans , Meta-Analysis as Topic , Research Design , SARS-CoV-2 , Syndrome , Systematic Reviews as Topic , Post-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are measures of a person's own views of their health, functioning and quality of life. They are typically assessed using validated, self-completed questionnaires known as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). PROMs are used in healthcare settings to support care planning, clinical decision-making, patient-practitioner communication and quality improvement. PROMs have a potential role in the delivery of social care where people often have multiple and complex long-term health conditions. However, the use of PROMs in this context is currently unclear. The objective of this scoping review is to explore the evidence relating to the use of PROMs in adult social care. METHODS AND ANALYSES: The electronic databases Medline (Ovid), PsychInfo (Ovid), ASSIA (ProQuest), Social Care Online (SCIE), Web of Science and EMBASE (Ovid) were searched on 29 September 2020 to identify eligible studies and other publically available documents published since 2010. A grey literature search and hand searching of citations and reference lists of the included studies will also be undertaken. No restrictions on study design or language of publication will be applied. Screening and data extraction will be completed independently by two reviewers. Quality appraisal of the included documents will use the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme and AACODS (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) checklists. A customised data charting table will be used for data extraction, with analysis of qualitative data using the framework method. The review findings will be presented as tables and in a narrative summary. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical review is not required as scoping reviews are a form of secondary data analysis that synthesise data from publically available sources. Review findings will be shared with service users and other relevant stakeholders and disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations. This protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework (www.osf.io).