The COVID HOME study research protocol: Prospective cohort study of non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
Adriana TamiBernardina T F van der GunKarin I WoldMaría F Vincenti-GonzálezAlida C M VelooMarjolein KnoesterValerie P R HarmsmaGerolf C de BoerAnke L W HuckriedeDaniele PantanoLilli GardIzabela A Rodenhuis-ZybertVinit UpasaniJolanda SmitAkkelies E DijkstraJacco J de HaanJip M van ElstJossy van den BoogaardShennae O' BoyleLuis NaculHubert G M NiestersAlex W FriedrichPublished in: PloS one (2022)
An ongoing prospective longitudinal observational study of COVID-19 outpatients was established in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. Laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals of all ages that did not merit hospitalisation, and their household (HH) members, were enrolled after written informed consent. Enrolled participants were visited at home within 48 hours after initial diagnosis, and then weekly on days 7, 14 and 21 to obtain clinical data, a blood sample for biochemical parameters/cytokines and serological determination; and a nasopharyngeal/throat swab plus urine, stool and sperm or vaginal secretion (if consenting) to test for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR (viral shedding) and for viral culturing. Weekly nasopharyngeal/throat swabs and stool samples, plus a blood sample on days 0 and 21 were also taken from HH members to determine whether and when they became infected. All participants were invited to continue follow-up at 3-, 6-, 12- and 18-months post-infection to assess long-term sequelae and immunological status.