Review

. 2022 Aug;37(8):849-870.

doi: 10.1007/s10654-022-00896-z. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Maximilian Schons¹, Lisa Pilgram², Jens-Peter Reese³, Melanie Stecher^{4

5}, Gabriele Anton^{6

7}, Katharina S Appel², Thomas Bahmer^{8

9}, Alexander Bartschke¹⁰, Carla Bellinghausen¹¹, Inga Bernemann¹², Markus Brechtel⁴, Folke Brinkmann¹³, Clara Brünn⁴, Christine Dhillon¹⁴, Cornelia Fiessler³, Ramsia Geisler², Eckard Hamelmann¹⁵, Stefan Hansch¹⁶, Frank Hanses^{16

17}, Sabine Hanß^{18

19}, Susanne Herold^{20

21

22}, Ralf Heyder²³, Anna-Lena Hofmann³, Sina Marie Hopff⁴, Anna Horn²⁴, Carolin Jakob⁴, Steffi Jiru-Hillmann³, Thomas Keil^{24

25

26}, Yascha Khodamoradi²⁷, Mirjam Kohls³, Monika Kraus^{6

28}, Dagmar Krefting^{18

19}, Sonja Kunze⁶, Florian Kurth^{29

30}, Wolfgang Lieb³¹, Lena Johanna Lippert²⁹, Roberto Lorbeer^{32

33}, Bettina Lorenz-Depiereux^{6

28}, Corina Maetzler³⁴, Olga Miljukov³, Matthias Nauck^{35

36}, Daniel Pape³⁷, Valentina Püntmann^{19

38}, Lennart Reinke³⁹, Christoph Römmele¹⁴, Stefanie Rudolph⁴⁰, Julian Sass¹⁰, Christian Schäfer^{35

41}, Jens Schaller^{33

42

43}, Mario Schattschneider³⁵, Christian Scheer⁴⁴, Margarete Scherer², Sein Schmidt⁴⁵, Julia Schmidt³, Kristina Seibel⁴, Dana Stahl^{19

46}, Fridolin Steinbeis²⁹, Stefan Störk^{47

48}, Maike Tauchert⁶, Johannes Josef Tebbe⁴⁹, Charlotte Thibeault²⁹, Nicole Toepfner⁵⁰, Kathrin Ungethüm²⁴, Istvan Vadasz^{22

51

52}, Heike Valentin^{19

46}, Silke Wiedmann²³, Thomas Zoller²⁹, Eike Nagel^{19

38}, Michael Krawczak⁵³, Christof von Kalle⁴⁰, Thomas Illig¹², Stefan Schreiber⁵⁴, Martin Witzenrath^{55

56}, Peter Heuschmann^{24

57}, Jörg Janne Vehreschild^{4

58

59}; NAPKON Research Group

Affiliations

¹ Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. nuep@mxschons.com.
² Department II of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
³ Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴ Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁵ German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-Site Cologne-Bonn, Cologne, Germany.
⁶ Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁷ German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁸ Internal Medicine Department I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁹ Airway Research Center North (ARCN), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Grosshansdorf, Germany.
¹⁰ Core Facility Digital Medicine and Interoperability, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
¹² Hannover Medical School, Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover, Germany.
¹³ Department of Paediatric Pneumology, Allergy and CF- Centre, University Children's Hospital, Ruhr- University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
¹⁴ COVID-19 Task Force, University Hospital Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Children's Center Bethel, University Hospital East Westphalia, University Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
¹⁶ Department for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
¹⁷ Emergency Department, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
¹⁸ University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.
¹⁹ German Center for Cardiovascular Diseases (DZHK), Berlin, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Internal Medicine V, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
²¹ Department of Internal Medicine, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
²² Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Giessen, Germany.
²³ NUM Coordination Office, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
²⁴ Insitute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
²⁵ Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
²⁶ State Institute of Health, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Bad Kissingen, Germany.
²⁷ Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Clinic 2, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
²⁸ German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
²⁹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
³⁰ Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, and Department of Medicine I, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
³¹ Institute of Epidemiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
³² Department of Radiology, University Hospital, LMU, Munich, Germany.
³³ Medical Heart Center of Charité and German Heart Institute Berlin, Institute of Computer-Assisted Cardiovascular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
³⁴ Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
³⁵ Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
³⁶ DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
³⁷ Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
³⁸ Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging, University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany.
³⁹ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁴⁰ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Joint Charité and BIH Clinical Study Center, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴¹ DZHK e.V. (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴² Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt - Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴³ DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁵ Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Clinical Study Center, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴⁶ University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁷ Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University and University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴⁸ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴⁹ Department of Gastroenterology and Infectious Disease, University Medical Center East Westphalia-Lippe, Klinikum Lippe, Detmold, Germany.
⁵⁰ Department of Pediatrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁵¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
⁵² Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Frankfurt, Germany.
⁵³ Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Kiel University, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
⁵⁴ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
⁵⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁵⁶ German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Frankfurt, Germany.
⁵⁷ Clinical Trial Center Würzburg, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁵⁸ Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Goethe University, Frankfurt,, Germany.
⁵⁹ German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

PMID: 35904671
PMCID: PMC9336157
DOI: 10.1007/s10654-022-00896-z

Review

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Maximilian Schons et al. Eur J Epidemiol. 2022 Aug.

. 2022 Aug;37(8):849-870.

doi: 10.1007/s10654-022-00896-z. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. nuep@mxschons.com.
² Department II of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
³ Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴ Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁵ German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-Site Cologne-Bonn, Cologne, Germany.
⁶ Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁷ German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁸ Internal Medicine Department I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁹ Airway Research Center North (ARCN), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Grosshansdorf, Germany.
¹⁰ Core Facility Digital Medicine and Interoperability, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
¹² Hannover Medical School, Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover, Germany.
¹³ Department of Paediatric Pneumology, Allergy and CF- Centre, University Children's Hospital, Ruhr- University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
¹⁴ COVID-19 Task Force, University Hospital Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Children's Center Bethel, University Hospital East Westphalia, University Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
¹⁶ Department for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
¹⁷ Emergency Department, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
¹⁸ University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.
¹⁹ German Center for Cardiovascular Diseases (DZHK), Berlin, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Internal Medicine V, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
²¹ Department of Internal Medicine, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
²² Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Giessen, Germany.
²³ NUM Coordination Office, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
²⁴ Insitute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
²⁵ Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
²⁶ State Institute of Health, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Bad Kissingen, Germany.
²⁷ Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Clinic 2, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
²⁸ German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany.
²⁹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
³⁰ Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, and Department of Medicine I, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
³¹ Institute of Epidemiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
³² Department of Radiology, University Hospital, LMU, Munich, Germany.
³³ Medical Heart Center of Charité and German Heart Institute Berlin, Institute of Computer-Assisted Cardiovascular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
³⁴ Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
³⁵ Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
³⁶ DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
³⁷ Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
³⁸ Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging, University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany.
³⁹ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁴⁰ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Joint Charité and BIH Clinical Study Center, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴¹ DZHK e.V. (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴² Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt - Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴³ DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁵ Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Clinical Study Center, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁴⁶ University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁷ Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University and University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴⁸ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴⁹ Department of Gastroenterology and Infectious Disease, University Medical Center East Westphalia-Lippe, Klinikum Lippe, Detmold, Germany.
⁵⁰ Department of Pediatrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁵¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
⁵² Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Frankfurt, Germany.
⁵³ Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Kiel University, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
⁵⁴ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
⁵⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
⁵⁶ German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Frankfurt, Germany.
⁵⁷ Clinical Trial Center Würzburg, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁵⁸ Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Goethe University, Frankfurt,, Germany.
⁵⁹ German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

PMID: 35904671
PMCID: PMC9336157
DOI: 10.1007/s10654-022-00896-z

Abstract

The German government initiated the Network University Medicine (NUM) in early 2020 to improve national research activities on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. To this end, 36 German Academic Medical Centers started to collaborate on 13 projects, with the largest being the National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON). The NAPKON's goal is creating the most comprehensive Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohort in Germany. Within NAPKON, adult and pediatric patients are observed in three complementary cohort platforms (Cross-Sectoral, High-Resolution and Population-Based) from the initial infection until up to three years of follow-up. Study procedures comprise comprehensive clinical and imaging diagnostics, quality-of-life assessment, patient-reported outcomes and biosampling. The three cohort platforms build on four infrastructure core units (Interaction, Biosampling, Epidemiology, and Integration) and collaborations with NUM projects. Key components of the data capture, regulatory, and data privacy are based on the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. By April 01, 2022, 34 university and 40 non-university hospitals have enrolled 5298 patients with local data quality reviews performed on 4727 (89%). 47% were female, the median age was 52 (IQR 36-62-) and 50 pediatric cases were included. 44% of patients were hospitalized, 15% admitted to an intensive care unit, and 12% of patients deceased while enrolled. 8845 visits with biosampling in 4349 patients were conducted by April 03, 2022. In this overview article, we summarize NAPKON's design, relevant milestones including first study population characteristics, and outline the potential of NAPKON for German and international research activities.Trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04768998 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04747366 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04679584.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cross-sectoral; Epidemiology; Longitudinal study; Population-based; Prospective national cohort; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Heuschmann reports grants from German Ministry of Research and Education, during the conduct of the study; research grants from German Ministry of Research and Education, European Union, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin Chamber of Physicians, German Parkinson Society, University Hospital Würzburg, Robert Koch Institute, German Heart Foundation, Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) within the Innovationfond, German Research Foundation, Bavarian State (ministry for science and the arts), German Cancer Aid, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin (within Mondafis; supported by an unrestricted research grant to the Charité from Bayer), University Göttingen (within FIND-AF randomized; supported by an unrestricted research grant to the University Göttingen from Boehringer-Ingelheim), University Hospital Heidelberg (within RASUNOA-prime; supported by an unrestricted research grant to the University Hospital Heidelberg from Bayer, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo), outside the submitted work. Dr. Bahmer reports grants from the German Center for Lung Research (DZL) and fees for lecturing, advice and travel expenses from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline. Novartis, Chiesi, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, Roche. Dr. Bellinghausen reports grants or contracts from Gilead Sciences. Dr. Hanses reports having received fees for presentations and lectures for DGINA, Akademie für Infektionsmedizin, and participation on the advisory boards for MSD, GSK and Sobi. Dr. Herold reports grants or contracts from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF), consulting fees from Janssen, Sanofi and AstraZeneca, participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory Board for Atriva. Dr. Keil reports grants from European Union; German Research Foundation; German Federal Ministry of Research and Education; Innovationsfonds by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA); and the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care. Dr. Pape reports having received support for attending ECCMID 2021 from Advanz Pharma Germany. Dr. Püntmann reports honoraria for presentations for Byer AG and Siemens AG, and being involved in the ACC Taskforce on long-term sequela of COVID-19 infection. Dr. Störk reports grants from Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Würzburg. Dr. Nagel reports grants from Byer AG and NeoSoft Ltd., consulting fees from Bayer AG, honoraria for presentations for Byer AG, Pfizer AG and Siemens Healthineers. He has received payments for expert testimony by Bayer AG, participates in the Advisory board CMR-ICD: NCT04558723, has patents issued and received equipment from MEDIS and NeoSoft. Dr. Thibeault reports grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Dr. Witzenrath reports grants from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pneumologie, European Respiratory Society, Marie Curie Foundation, Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung, Capnetz Stiftung, International Max Planck Research School, Vaxxilon, Actelion, Bayer Health Care, Biotest, Boehringer Ingelheim. He received consulting fees from Noxxon, Pantherna, Vaxxilon, Aptarion, Glaxo Smith Kline, Sinoxa, Biotest, Thieme, and received honoraria for presentations from Astra Zeneca, Berlin Chemie, Chiesi, Novartis, Actelion, Boehringer Ingelheim, Glaxo Smith Kline, Biotest, Bayer Health Care. He has issued several patents. Dr. Vehreschild reports to have received honoraria for presentations from Merck / MSD, Gilead, Pfizer, Astellas Pharma, Basilea, German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), University Hospital Freiburg/Congress and Communication, Academy for Infectious Medicine, University Manchester, German Society for Infectious Diseases (DGI), Ärztekammer Nordrhein, University Hospital Aachen, Back Bay Strategies, German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM), Shionogi, Molecular Health, Netzwerk Universitätsmedizin, Janssen, NordForsk. He received research funding from Merck / MSD, Gilead, Pfizer, Astellas Pharma, Basilea, German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), (PJ-T: DLR), University of Bristol, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen. All other authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript, except for the Network University Medicine.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Visit schedules of the three NAPKON cohort platforms. During the acute phase, data collection and various study diagnostics are scheduled weekly. In case of complications, routine laboratory data and vitals parameters are additionally documented once a week. University hospitals collect biosamples weekly during study visits. Follow-up visits (scheduled in reference to initial diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection) of patients include in-clinic study diagnostics (with biosampling at university hospitals) and questionnaires for PROMs. The POP documents the acute course of its patients retrospectively and performs its comprehensive in-clinic follow-up visits (including biosampling) roughly in yearly intervals [27].

**Fig. 2**
Flow-diagram of the NAPKON governance. Study sites and scientists are prominently included in most governance processes

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Bchetnia M, Girard C, Duchaine C, Laprise C. The outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): a review of the current global status. J Infect Public Health. 2020;13:1601–10. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.07.011. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet (Elsevier) 2020;395:497–506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. World Health Organization. Timeline: WHO’s COVID-19 response [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2021 Jul 18]. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/interact...
1. Elisabeth E. Cameron, Jennifer B. Nuzzo, Jessica A. Bell, et al. Global Health Security Index 2019 [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://www.ghsindex.org/report-model/
1. WHO. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard April 01 2022 [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2022 Apr 20]. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20220401050337/https://covid19.who.int/

Publication types

Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Associated data

Actions
- Search in PubMed
- Search in ClinicalTrials.gov
Actions
- Search in PubMed
- Search in ClinicalTrials.gov
Actions
- Search in PubMed
- Search in ClinicalTrials.gov

Grants and funding

FKZ: 01KX2021/Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Medical
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Affiliations

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous