Doctor looking at X-ray in studio
PHOSP-COVID: Post-HOSPitalisation COVID-19 study – a national consortium to understand and improve long-term health outcomes
Chief Investigator: Professor Chris Brightling
Study start date: July 2020
PHOSP-COVID is the first UK wide study to assess the impact of COVID-19 on patient health and their recovery.
As we emerge from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have new insights into the acute phase of this disease but very little information concerning long-term effects of COVID-19 and the ongoing medical, psychological and rehabilitation needs of these patients. For those who were hospitalised and have since been discharged, it is not yet clear what the health needs for people diagnosed with COVID-19 will be to enable them to make as full a recovery as possible.
To address this gap in our understanding, an 18-month research study aims to understand:
- why some people recover more quickly than others
- why some patients develop other health problems later on
- which treatments received in hospital or afterwards were helpful
- how we can improve care of patients after they have been discharged from hospital
The PHOSP-COVID study will draw on expertise from a national consortium of leading researchers and clinicians – involving 20 universities and associated NHS trusts. Assessments of patients using techniques such as advanced imaging, data collection and analysis of blood will be undertaken, creating a more comprehensive picture of the impact of COVID-19 on longer term health outcomes across the UK.
The study is expected to recruit 10,000 patients who were admitted to UK hospital sites with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. All patients discharged from participating centres will be invited to take part and aligned to the NHS clinical care pathways.
PHOSP-COVID 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. It has received £8.4m from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
This study is widely supported across the NIHR infrastructure, including by the Respiratory, Mental Health and Dementia Translational Research Collaborations (TRC), the NIHR-British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Partnership, and the Diet and Activity Research Translation Collaboration.
The study is also supported by 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.
For more information visit www.phosp.org
Email the study team at phosp@leicester.ac.uk