Frontiers in public healthOct 15, 2026

Factors helping and hindering decentralized Long COVID drug trials using existing medicines

Long Covid Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Oct 16, 2026

Abstract

Long COVID results in significant impairments in quality of life and physical function.

There are currently no FDA-approved treatments specifically for Long COVID.
Recent clinical trials conducted in institutions have not produced effective treatments.
Standard care for Long COVID typically involves trial-and-error in repurposing existing drugs.
Decentralized drug repurposing trials may offer advantages over traditional institution-based trials.
Insights from a local feasibility pilot trial could help improve future decentralized trials in Long COVID research.

Simplified

Long COVID is an emerging chronic condition that results in substantial impairments in quality of life, physical function, and ability to maintain gainful employment. There are no FDA-approved treatments for Long COVID, and recent institution-based clinical trials have not yielded effective treatments. Current standard of care involves trial-and-error drug repurposing that warrants evaluation in rigorous clinical trials. Here we describe potential advantages of decentralized repurposing drug trials as an alternative or complementary approach to institution-based trials. Additionally, we describe lessons learned when launching a local feasibility pilot trial that may inform the design of future decentralized trials in the Long COVID field.

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Factors helping and hindering decentralized Long COVID drug trials using existing medicines

Abstract

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