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The following is a summary of “Long Term Effects of COVID-19 in Primary Immunodeficiency Patients: An IPOPI Worldwide Survey,” published in the April 2025 issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by Leeuwen et al. 

During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals developed persistent symptoms, and limited data existed on the long-term effects in the primary immunodeficiency (PID) community.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to understand long-term symptoms of post-COVID-19 in patients with PID, focusing on prevalence, risk factors, viral persistence, and the impact on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL).  

They performed a global, multilingual web-based survey organized by the International Patient Organization for Primary Immunodeficiencies (IPOPI) from July to October 2023. The survey collected self-reported data on demographics, PID diagnosis, comorbidities, COVID-19, and HR-QoL using the EuroQol 5-Dimensions 5-Levels (EQ-5D-5L) scale and the data was then analyzed to assess the long-term impact of COVID-19 on patients with PID.  

The results showed that among 1,160 respondents, 25% experienced persistent symptoms post-COVID-19, with fatigue, headache, and nasal symptoms being most common. These individuals reported a significantly higher prevalence of symptoms in all categories—systemic, pain, cardiopulmonary, gastrointestinal, neurological, psychological, neurocognitive, and others—except upper respiratory tract symptoms, compared to those without persistent symptoms. Independent risk factors for persistent symptoms included female sex, asthma, neurological diseases, and predominantly antibody deficiency other than common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) or agammaglobulinemia. Viral clearance was not achieved within 1 month in 30% of those with persistent symptoms and the HR-QoL declined during the pandemic across all PID categories, notably more in those with symptoms lasting over 6 months.  

Investigators concluded that persistent symptoms following COVID-19 were common in individuals with PID and were linked to multiple risk factors, while the pandemic substantially affected the HR-QoL regardless of infection status. 

Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(25)00497-X/abstract