New research from Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine found that 41 percent of long COVID patients initially tested negative for the virus, which may have led to several not getting the care they later needed for persistent symptoms, according to an Aug. 23 news release shared with Becker's.
After focusing on 29 long COVID patients who initially tested negative, researchers found that a majority — 93 percent — were women around the age of 43.
The study, which was published in the American Academy of Neurology's Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation journal, tested patients for antibody and T cell responses and compared it to two proteins from the COVID-19 virus and found that "patients' responses were mixed rather than all or nothing, suggesting that a comprehensive evaluation is necessary and that immunologic tests are not a one-size-fits-all for confirming prior exposure to the virus," Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine, who oversees the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic said in the release.
The findings, he noted, should be prioritized by post-COVID clinics to no longer require a positive test result to provide care to a patient who suspects they are experiencing long COVID-19 symptoms.
"Millions of people in the United States have been rejected by the medical establishment and stigmatized because they didn't carry a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 when they presented with their long COVID symptoms," Dr. Koralnik stated. "We hope those people feel vindicated by our study."