COVID Cohort Study

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and associated COVID-19 illness has quickly spread worldwide, with substantial morbidity and mortality. Early data suggest that most patients with severe COVID-19 (i.e., experiencing acute respiratory failure (ARF) in an intensive care unit) may have cytokine release syndrome and other major effects on the innate and adaptive immune systems. However, there is limited understanding of both the inflammatory/immunological and the clinical course of COVID-19, with no robust data published beyond hospital discharge. Based on prior literature from acute viral illnesses, such as Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), persistent functional impairments in COVID-19 survivors is expected. Despite the importance of these issues, very few studies have ever investigated the biological mechanisms underlying persistent functional impairments after ARF. Hence, understanding the short- and longer-term biological and clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19, and investigating associations between inflammation and clinical outcomes is important to design acute therapies and recovery-focused interventions. To address critical gaps in knowledge, the investigators propose a 2-center longitudinal cohort study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients via an Administrative Supplement to our existing grant (R01HL132887, MPIs Stapleton and Needham). Investigators will study COVID-19 patients with ARF who have either severe disease (requiring mechanical ventilation, non-invasive ventilation, or high flow nasal cannula oxygen support) or non-severe disease (new or increased supplemental oxygen requirement, without meeting severe criteria). Researchers will perform an in-depth evaluation of inflammatory/immunological, physical, pulmonary, and neuropsychological status during hospitalization, and over 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up. Feasibility for accomplishing this prospective study is demonstrated by 1) a successful existing collaboration between the University of Vermont (UVM) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), supported by multiple NIH grants, and 2) the current and projected COVID-19 census at both hospital systems. The investigators have the existing infrastructure, expertise, and personnel to enroll 225 patients with COVID-19, and longitudinally follow survivors for 12 months, to investigate short-term and longer-term inflammatory/immunologic and clinical outcomes during this pandemic.