New study tells of breakthrough in pediatric long COVID treatment
22nd May 2023 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
National Jewish Health, based in Denver, Colo., recently published a study that gave a glimmer of hope to patients suffering from long COVID.
Researchers recently discovered that Colchicine, a daily medication remedy used for gout and periodic fever syndrome, led to rapid improvement in patients’ fevers and other long COVID symptoms.
Doctors believe a patient has long COVID if they experience recurrent symptoms lasting longer than 12 weeks. The symptoms can include fevers, headache, dizziness, stomach and chest pain, reduced appetite, fatigue and more. Exercise intolerance can also occur.
While conducting research on two young patients suffering from long COVID, researchers at National Jewish Health used genetic testing to discover both individuals had a pathogenic heterozygous mutation in the MEFV gene. Mutations in this gene have been identified with periodic fever syndromes such as FMF (Familial Mediterranean Fever).
“Children with persistent recurrent fevers after COVID-19 infection should be tested for this genetic variant,” said Dr. Nathan Rabinovitch, director of the pediatric care unit at National Jewish Health and senior author of the study.
Rabinovitch said Colchicine is a common treatment for FMF so the doctors decided to use it on their long COVID patients. He said it resulted in a “near immediate resolution” of fevers and improvement in other symptoms.
Eleven-year-old Adam Shepard of Denver, Colo., was one of the children featured in the study. After catching COVID-19, a wide variety of symptoms continued for Adam for approximately six months. He suffered from stomach aches and nausea. Fevers persisted. An active child, he frequently missed out on playing soccer and attending school because of the symptoms. Going to school meant climbing stairs and the dizzy spells he would suffer made him afraid to do that. It took a toll on his mental health as well.
“I was worried because I was coughing a lot and still had a fever,” Adam said. “A lot of people, they didn’t understand what I have.”
After about a month of taking Colchicine daily, Adam said he saw positive results. The symptoms have not entirely disappeared. He said he still experiences a fever every two months or so, but they are far less frequent and he is able to quickly get on top of the fevers with prednisone. He said his doctors are still working on determining the best daily dose of Colchicine for him. He is also back to attending school and playing soccer regularly.
A spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Health said long COVID is still not a reportable condition with the state so the state does not keep data on how many people suffer from it in Louisiana.
Rabinovitch said the lack of awareness of long COVID can lead to the perpetuation of frustrating misconceptions for both doctors and patients. He said many people erroneously believe it is all in the patient’s head or that it will all eventually go away on its own given enough time. He said some people incorrectly believe it is only seen in adults and not in children.
Dr. Jake Kleinmahon, a pediatric cardiologist and director of pediatric heart transplant and heart failure at Ochsner Hospital for Children, said he has treated local patients with long COVID.
“Long COVID in children is a debilitating disease that has not received much attention throughout the pandemic,” Kleinmahon said. “I have seen countless children who enjoyed and excelled in school, and enjoyed the company of their peers, whose lives have been turned upside down after coming down with COVID…These children are no longer able to participate in the activities that they once enjoyed, and many have a decline in their mental health because of this.”
This article originally published in the May 22, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
