TY  - JOUR
A1  - Horn, A.
A1  - Krist, L.
A1  - Lieb, W.
A1  - Montellano, F. A.
A1  - Kohls, M.
A1  - Haas, K.
A1  - Gelbrich, G.
A1  - Bolay-Gehrig, S. J.
A1  - Morbach, C.
A1  - Reese, J. P.
A1  - Störk, S.
A1  - Fricke, J.
A1  - Zoller, T.
A1  - Schmidt, S.
A1  - Triller, P.
A1  - Kretzler, L.
A1  - Rönnefarth, M.
A1  - Von Kalle, C.
A1  - Willich, S. N.
A1  - Kurth, F.
A1  - Steinbeis, F.
A1  - Witzenrath, M.
A1  - Bahmer, T.
A1  - Hermes, A.
A1  - Krawczak, M.
A1  - Reinke, L.
A1  - Maetzler, C.
A1  - Franzenburg, J.
A1  - Enderle, J.
A1  - Flinspach, A.
A1  - Vehreschild, J.
A1  - Schons, M.
A1  - Illig, T.
A1  - Anton, G.
A1  - Ungethüm, K.
A1  - Finkenberg, B. C.
A1  - Gehrig, M. T.
A1  - Savaskan, N.
A1  - Heuschmann, P. U.
A1  - Keil, T.
A1  - Schreiber, S.
T1  - Long-term health sequelae and quality of life at least 6 months after infection with SARS-CoV-2: design and rationale of the COVIDOM-study as part of the NAPKON population-based cohort platform (POP)
JF  - Infection
N2  - Purpose
Over the course of COVID-19 pandemic, evidence has accumulated that SARS-CoV-2 infections may affect multiple organs and have serious clinical sequelae, but on-site clinical examinations with non-hospitalized samples are rare. We, therefore, aimed to systematically assess the long-term health status of samples of hospitalized and non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from three regions in Germany.

Methods
The present paper describes the COVIDOM-study within the population-based cohort platform (POP) which has been established under the auspices of the NAPKON infrastructure (German National Pandemic Cohort Network) of the national Network University Medicine (NUM). Comprehensive health assessments among SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals are conducted at least 6 months after the acute infection at the study sites Kiel, Würzburg and Berlin. Potential participants were identified and contacted via the local public health authorities, irrespective of the severity of the initial infection. A harmonized examination protocol has been implemented, consisting of detailed assessments of medical history, physical examinations, and the collection of multiple biosamples (e.g., serum, plasma, saliva, urine) for future analyses. In addition, patient-reported perception of the impact of local pandemic-related measures and infection on quality-of-life are obtained.

Results
As of July 2021, in total 6813 individuals infected in 2020 have been invited into the COVIDOM-study. Of these, about 36% wished to participate and 1295 have already been examined at least once.

Conclusion
NAPKON-POP COVIDOM-study complements other Long COVID studies assessing the long-term consequences of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 by providing detailed health data of population-based samples, including individuals with various degrees of disease severity.

Trial registration
Registered at the German registry for clinical studies (DRKS00023742).
KW  - Long COVID
KW  - Sars-CoV-2
KW  - on-site examination
KW  - internal medicine
KW  - neurological
KW  - population-based
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308960
SN  - 0300-8126
SN  - 1439-0973
VL  - 49
IS  - 6
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kerwagen, Fabian
A1  - Riemer, Uwe
A1  - Wachter, Rolf
A1  - von Haehling, Stephan
A1  - Abdin, Amr
A1  - Böhm, Michael
A1  - Schulz, Martin
A1  - Störk, Stefan
T1  - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on implementation of novel guideline-directed medical therapies for heart failure in Germany: a nationwide retrospective analysis
JF  - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
N2  - Background
Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is the cornerstone in the treatment of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and novel substances such as sacubitril/valsartan (S/V) and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have demonstrated marked clinical benefits. We investigated their implementation into real-world HF care in Germany before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Methods
The IQVIA LRx data set is based on ∼80% of 73 million people covered by the German statutory health insurance. Prescriptions of S/V were used as a proxy for HFrEF. Time trends were analysed between Q1/2016 and Q2/2023 for prescriptions for S/V alone and in combination therapy with SGLT2i.

Findings
The number of patients treated with S/V increased from 5260 in Q1/2016 to 351,262 in Q2/2023. The share of patients with combination therapy grew from 0.6% (29 of 5260) to 14.2% (31,128 of 219,762) in Q2/2021, and then showed a steep surge up to 54.8% (192,429 of 351,262) in Q2/2023, coinciding with the release of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for HF in Q3/2021. Women and patients aged >80 years were treated less often with combined therapy than men and younger patients. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients with new S/V prescriptions dropped by 17.5% within one quarter, i.e., from 26,855 in Q1/2020 to 22,145 in Q2/2020, and returned to pre-pandemic levels only in Q1/2021.

Interpretation
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a 12-month deceleration of S/V uptake in Germany. Following the release of the ESC HF guidelines, the combined prescription of S/V and SGLT2i was readily adopted. Further efforts are needed to fully implement GDMT and strengthen the resilience of healthcare systems during public health crises.
KW  - health policy
KW  - oncology
KW  - internal medicine
KW  - heart failure
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - sacubitril-valsartan
KW  - sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors
KW  - guideline-directed medical therapy
KW  - evidence-based practice
KW  - real-world
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350510
SN  - 2666-7762
VL  - 35
ER  -