“Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP), Non-invasive Approach to Treat Long Covid Fatigue”
Principal Investigator: Dana Yelin, MD MPH
“Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP), Non-invasive Approach to Treat Long Covid Fatigue”
Principal Investigator: Dana Yelin, MD MPH
Dr. Dana Yelin, MD MPH, is an infectious diseases specialist in Sheba Medical Center in Israel. She is the principal investigator in the Sheba Long Covid study group. Her interest in long COVID arose at the beginning of the pandemic, where many young and previously healthy coworkers reported ongoing symptoms following COVID-19. She led the first multi-disciplinary COVID recovery clinic in Israel and oversaw the evaluation and treatment of over 1000 patients. The clinic included an infrastructure for research ,and as part of the clinic’s work, several research projects are either ongoing or were already published. She also took part and is the first author of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases’ guidelines for assessment and management of Long Covid.
Study Summary
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has impacted hundreds of millions of people globally, a relatively large proportion of whom continue to suffer from ongoing, sometime debilitating symptoms. This phenomenon, termed “Long Covid,” is difficult to diagnose and manage because of a paucity of objective findings and despite the abundance of descriptive data published so far. Recently, in the ESCMID Long Covid guidelines we have reviewed existing data and found no proven management strategies for Long Covid fatigue.
Enhanced external counter-pulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive outpatient therapy that has been shown to improve functional status and quality of life in some groups of patients with impaired blood flow and other vascular problems. In practice, cuffs are fitted around the legs, applying l pressure (of compressed air) in order to increase blood flow into the heart. Several small studies have tried using EECP in Long Covid patients in order to improve quality of life and reduce symptom burden successfully.
This study tests EECP on Long Covid patients suffering from fatigue, examining functional status, vascular markers, and quality of life improvement following the treatment vs standard of care.
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