Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun 23;18(6):e0286297.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286297. eCollection 2023.

Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) adult study protocol: Rationale, objectives, and design

Leora I Horwitz  1 Tanayott Thaweethai  2 Shari B Brosnahan  3 Mine S Cicek  4 Megan L Fitzgerald  5 Jason D Goldman  6 Rachel Hess  7 S L Hodder  8 Vanessa L Jacoby  9 Michael R Jordan  10 Jerry A Krishnan  11 Adeyinka O Laiyemo  12 Torri D Metz  13 Lauren Nichols  14 Rachel E Patzer  15 Anisha Sekar  5 Nora G Singer  16 Lauren E Stiles  17 Barbara S Taylor  18 Shifa Ahmed  2 Heather A Algren  19 Khamal Anglin  20 Lisa Aponte-Soto  21 Hassan Ashktorab  12 Ingrid V Bassett  22 Brahmchetna Bedi  23 Nahid Bhadelia  24 Christian Bime  25 Marie-Abele C Bind  2 Lora J Black  26 Andra L Blomkalns  27 Hassan Brim  28 Mario Castro  29 James Chan  2 Alexander W Charney  30 Benjamin K Chen  31 Li Qing Chen  32 Peter Chen  33 David Chestek  34 Lori B Chibnik  35 Dominic C Chow  36 Helen Y Chu  37 Rebecca G Clifton  38 Shelby Collins  23 Maged M Costantine  39 Sushma K Cribbs  23 Steven G Deeks  40 John D Dickinson  41 Sarah E Donohue  42 Matthew S Durstenfeld  43 Ivette F Emery  44 Kristine M Erlandson  45 Julio C Facelli  46 Rachael Farah-Abraham  47 Aloke V Finn  48 Melinda S Fischer  18 Valerie J Flaherman  49 Judes Fleurimont  50 Vivian Fonseca  51 Emily J Gallagher  52 Jennifer C Gander  53 Maria Laura Gennaro  54 Kelly S Gibson  55 Minjoung Go  56 Steven N Goodman  57 Joey P Granger  58 Frank L Greenway  59 John W Hafner  60 Jenny E Han  61 Michelle S Harkins  62 Kristine S P Hauser  63 James R Heath  64 Carla R Hernandez  65 On Ho  66 Matthew K Hoffman  67 Susan E Hoover  26 Carol R Horowitz  68 Harvey Hsu  69 Priscilla Y Hsue  40 Brenna L Hughes  70 Prasanna Jagannathan  56 Judith A James  71 Janice John  72 Sarah Jolley  73 S E Judd  74 Joy J Juskowich  75 Diane G Kanjilal  76 Elizabeth W Karlson  77 Stuart D Katz  78 J Daniel Kelly  40 Sara W Kelly  79 Arthur Y Kim  76 John P Kirwan  80 Kenneth S Knox  69 Andre Kumar  56 Michelle F Lamendola-Essel  78 Margaret Lanca  81 Joyce K Lee-Lannotti  82 R Craig Lefebvre  83 Bruce D Levy  84 Janet Y Lin  34 Brian P Logarbo Jr  85 Jennifer K Logue  86 Michele T Longo  87 Carlos A Luciano  88 Karen Lutrick  89 Shahdi K Malakooti  90 Gail Mallett  91 Gabrielle Maranga  1 Jai G Marathe  92 Vincent C Marconi  93 Gailen D Marshall  94 Christopher F Martin  47 Jeffrey N Martin  95 Heidi T May  96 Grace A McComsey  97 Dylan McDonald  37 Hector Mendez-Figueroa  98 Lucio Miele  99 Murray A Mittleman  100 Sindhu Mohandas  101 Christian Mouchati  90 Janet M Mullington  102 Girish N Nadkarni  103 Erica R Nahin  78 Robert B Neuman  104 Lisa T Newman  105 Amber Nguyen  2 Janko Z Nikolich  106 Igho Ofotokun  47 Princess U Ogbogu  107 Anna Palatnik  108 Kristy T S Palomares  109 Tanyalak Parimon  33 Samuel Parry  110 Sairam Parthasarathy  25 Thomas F Patterson  111 Ann Pearman  90 Michael J Peluso  112 Priscilla Pemu  113 Christian M Pettker  114 Beth A Plunkett  115 Kristen Pogreba-Brown  116 Athena Poppas  117 J Zachary Porterfield  118 John G Quigley  119 Davin K Quinn  120 Hengameh Raissy  121 Candida J Rebello  122 Uma M Reddy  123 Rebecca Reece  75 Harrison T Reeder  2 Franz P Rischard  124 Johana M Rosas  78 Clifford J Rosen  44 Nadine G Rouphael  23 Dwight J Rouse  125 Adam M Ruff  29 Christina Saint Jean  1 Grecio J Sandoval  38 Jorge L Santana  126 Shannon M Schlater  127 Frank C Sciurba  128 Caitlin Selvaggi  2 Sudha Seshadri  129 Howard D Sesso  130 Dimpy P Shah  131 Eyal Shemesh  132 Zaki A Sherif  133 Daniel J Shinnick  2 Hyagriv N Simhan  134 Upinder Singh  135 Amber Sowles  13 Vignesh Subbian  136 Jun Sun  11 Mehul S Suthar  137 Larissa J Teunis  138 John M Thorp Jr  139 Amberly Ticotsky  72 Alan T N Tita  140 Robin Tragus  141 Katherine R Tuttle  142 Alfredo E Urdaneta  27 P J Utz  135 Timothy M VanWagoner  143 Andrew Vasey  41 Suzanne D Vernon  144 Crystal Vidal  1 Tiffany Walker  23 Honorine D Ward  145 David E Warren  146 Ryan M Weeks  147 Steven J Weiner  38 Jordan C Weyer  148 Jennifer L Wheeler  148 Sidney W Whiteheart  149 Zanthia Wiley  47 Natasha J Williams  150 Juan P Wisnivesky  103 John C Wood  151 Lynn M Yee  152 Natalie M Young  19 Sokratis N Zisis  97 Andrea S Foulkes  2
Affiliations

Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) adult study protocol: Rationale, objectives, and design

Leora I Horwitz et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects after the acute phase of infection; termed post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID. The characteristics, prevalence, trajectory and mechanisms of PASC are ill-defined. The objectives of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Multi-site Observational Study of PASC in Adults (RECOVER-Adult) are to: (1) characterize PASC prevalence; (2) characterize the symptoms, organ dysfunction, natural history, and distinct phenotypes of PASC; (3) identify demographic, social and clinical risk factors for PASC onset and recovery; and (4) define the biological mechanisms underlying PASC pathogenesis.

Methods: RECOVER-Adult is a combined prospective/retrospective cohort currently planned to enroll 14,880 adults aged ≥18 years. Eligible participants either must meet WHO criteria for suspected, probable, or confirmed infection; or must have evidence of no prior infection. Recruitment occurs at 86 sites in 33 U.S. states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, via facility- and community-based outreach. Participants complete quarterly questionnaires about symptoms, social determinants, vaccination status, and interim SARS-CoV-2 infections. In addition, participants contribute biospecimens and undergo physical and laboratory examinations at approximately 0, 90 and 180 days from infection or negative test date, and yearly thereafter. Some participants undergo additional testing based on specific criteria or random sampling. Patient representatives provide input on all study processes. The primary study outcome is onset of PASC, measured by signs and symptoms. A paradigm for identifying PASC cases will be defined and updated using supervised and unsupervised learning approaches with cross-validation. Logistic regression and proportional hazards regression will be conducted to investigate associations between risk factors, onset, and resolution of PASC symptoms.

Discussion: RECOVER-Adult is the first national, prospective, longitudinal cohort of PASC among US adults. Results of this study are intended to inform public health, spur clinical trials, and expand treatment options.

Registration: NCT05172024.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Helen Chu reported consulting for Merck, GSK, Pfizer, Ellume, Janssen, Vindico CME, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and receiving research support from Gates Ventures, Ellume, and Sanofi Pasteur. She also serves as a co-investigator on studies funded by Pfizer, Novavax, and GSK. Maged Costantine reported receiving grant support for work not related to RECOVER work/publications from Baxter International and Siemens Healthcare and personal consulting fees not related to this paper from Progenity, Quidel Ortho, and Siemens Healthcare. Kristine Erlandson reported research funding from Gilead Sciences and consulting payments from Gilead Sciences, Merck, and ViiV Pharmaceuticals, all paid to the University of Colorado. Emily Gallagher reported consulting for Novartis, Flare Therapeutics and Seagen. Edward Gardner reported research support (clinical trials) from Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, and Cepheid. Jason Goldman reported research support from Gilead, Eli Lilly and Regeneron; grants from Gilead, Merck (BARDA); personal fees for consulting from Gilead, Eli Lilly; and non-financial support from Adaptive Biotechnologies and Labcorp/Monogram Biosciences outside the submitted work. Timothy Heinrich reported grant support from Merck Inc. and consulting fees from Roche. Rachel Hess reported serving as Data Safety Monitoring Board member for Astellas Pharmaceuticals unrelated to the current work. Leora Horwitz reported being a member of the National Academy of Medicine Committee on the Long-Term Health Effects Stemming from COVID-19 and Implications for the Social Security Administration. Priscilla Hsue reported receiving honoraria from Gilead and Merck unrelated to study topic, receiving study drug from Regeneron unrelated to study topic, and receiving a research grant from Novartis. Judith James reported OMRF has licensed her IP to Progentec Biosciences, has received grant support from Progentec Biosciences, and serves on Advisory Committees to Glaxo Smith Klein, Merck and Novartis. Arthur Kim reports providing educational materials to Clinical Care Options and UpToDate and serving on a Data Safety Monitoring board for Kintor Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Bruce Levy reported serving as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Entrinsic Biosciences, Gossamer Bio and Nocion Therapeutics and receiving research support from Amgen, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, SRA and Sanofi unrelated to the current work. Vincent Marconi reported receiving grants from NIH during the conduct of the study and grants from NIH, Veteran Affairs, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; grants, personal fees, nonfinancial support, and other from Lilly and Gilead; grants and personal fees from ViiV; and nonfinancial support from Bayer outside the submitted work. Grace McComsey reported serving as consultant for Merck, Gilead, ViiV, Janssen and have received research support from Pfizer, Vanda, Genentech, Roche, Redhill and Cognivue. Torri Metz reported being a site PI and a participant in the medical advisory board for the planning of a Pfizer clinical trial of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy. She also reported being a site PI for a Pfizer study evaluating the pharmacokinetics of Paxlovid in pregnant people with COVID-19. Janet Mullington reported support for investigator-initiated research by "Open Medicine Foundation and the Patient-Led Research Collaborative" Princess Ogbogu reported research support from Astrazeneca, GSK, Blueprint medical; advisory board for Astrazeneca, GSK, Sanofi, Kalvista; and consulting for Astrazeneca, GSK Sairam Parthasarathy reported research funding to Institution from Sergey Brin foundation of COVID and Long-COVID research. Michael Peluso reported consulting fees from Gilead Sciences and AstraZeneca, and service on data safety monitoring board for American Gene Technologies. Sean Quigley reported service on speaker Board for Servier, Alnylam, Agios; service on advisory board for Recordati, Alexion. Franz Rischard reported research support from NIH/NHLBI, United Therapeutics, Acceleron/Merck, Janssen, Insmed, Aerovate, and Bayer; and consulting/advisory compensation from Acceleron and Bayer. Nadine Rouphael reported being a consultant for ICON and EMMES as a safety consultant for clinical trials; service on the advisory boards for Moderna; funds to institution from Sanofi, Lilly, Merck, Quidel and Pfizer. PJ Utz reported stock ownership of Gilead and PI of biomarker studies for Pfizer STOP-PASC paxlovid trial Juan Wisnivesky received receiving consulting honorarium from Sanofi, Banook, Prospero, PPD and Atea and research grants from Sanofi, Regeneron, Axella, and Arnold Consultants.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Schedule of assessments.

Update of

  • Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) pediatric study protocol: Rationale, objectives and design.
    Gross R, Thaweethai T, Rosenzweig EB, Chan J, Chibnik LB, Cicek MS, Elliott AJ, Flaherman VJ, Foulkes AS, Witvliet MG, Gallagher R, Gennaro ML, Jernigan TL, Karlson EW, Katz SD, Kinser PA, Kleinman LC, Lamendola-Essel MF, Milner JD, Mohandas S, Mudumbi PC, Newburger JW, Rhee KE, Salisbury AL, Snowden JN, Stein CR, Stockwell MS, Tantisira KG, Thomason ME, Truong DT, Warburton D, Wood JC, Ahmed S, Akerlundh A, Alshawabkeh AN, Anderson BR, Aschner JL, Atz AM, Aupperle RL, Baker FC, Balaraman V, Banerjee D, Barch DM, Baskin-Sommers A, Bhuiyan S, Bind MC, Bogie AL, Buchbinder NC, Bueler E, Bükülmez H, Casey BJ, Chang L, Clark DB, Clifton RG, Clouser KN, Cottrell L, Cowan K, D'Sa V, Dapretto M, Dasgupta S, Dehority W, Dummer KB, Elias MD, Esquenazi-Karonika S, Evans DN, Faustino EVS, Fiks AG, Forsha D, Foxe JJ, Friedman NP, Fry G, Gaur S, Gee DG, Gray KM, Harahsheh AS, Heath AC, Heitzeg MM, Hester CM, Hill S, Hobart-Porter L, Hong TKF, Horowitz CR, Hsia DS, Huentelman M, Hummel KD, Iacono WG, Irby K, Jacobus J, Jacoby VL, Jone PN, Kaelber DC, Kasmarcak TJ, Kluko MJ, Kosut JS, Laird AR, Landeo-Gutierrez J, Lang SM, Larson CL, Lim PPC, Lisdahl KM, McCrindle BW, McCulloh RJ, Mendelsohn AL,… See abstract for full author list ➔ Gross R, et al. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 May 12:2023.04.27.23289228. doi: 10.1101/2023.04.27.23289228. medRxiv. 2023. Update in: PLoS One. 2023 Jun 23;18(6):e0286297. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286297. PMID: 37214806 Free PMC article. Updated. Preprint.

Similar articles

  • Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) pregnancy study: Rationale, objectives and design.
    Metz TD, Clifton RG, Gallagher R, Gross RS, Horwitz LI, Jacoby VL, Martin-Herz SP, Peralta-Carcelen M, Reeder HT, Beamon CJ, Chan J, Chang AA, Costantine MM, Fitzgerald ML, Foulkes AS, Gibson KS, Güthe N, Habli M, Hackney DN, Hoffman MK, Hoffman MC, Hughes BL, Katz SD, Laleau V, Mallett G, Mendez-Figueroa H, Monzon V, Palatnik A, Palomares KTS, Parry S, Pettker CM, Plunkett BA, Poppas A, Reddy UM, Rouse DJ, Saade GR, Sandoval GJ, Schlater SM, Sciurba FC, Simhan HN, Skupski DW, Sowles A, Thaweethai T, Thomas GL, Thorp JM Jr, Tita AT, Weiner SJ, Weigand S, Yee LM, Flaherman VJ; RECOVER Initiative. Metz TD, et al. PLoS One. 2023 Dec 21;18(12):e0285351. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285351. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 38128008 Free PMC article.
  • Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) tissue pathology study protocol: Rationale, objectives, and design.
    Troxel AB, Bind MC, Flotte TJ, Cordon-Cardo C, Decker LA, Finn AV, Padera RF, Reichard RR, Stone JR, Adolphi NL, Casimero FVC, Crary JF, Elifritz J, Faustin A, Ghosh SKB, Krausert A, Martinez-Lage M, Melamed J, Mitchell RA Jr, Sampson BA, Seifert AC, Simsir A, Adams C, Haasnoot S, Hafner S, Siciliano MA, Vallejos BB, Del Boccio P, Lamendola-Essel MF, Young CE, Kewlani D, Akinbo PA, Parent B, Chung A, Cato TC, Mudumbi PC, Esquenazi-Karonika S, Wood MJ, Chan J, Monteiro J, Shinnick DJ, Thaweethai T, Nguyen AN, Fitzgerald ML, Perlowski AA, Stiles LE, Paskett ML, Katz SD, Foulkes AS; RECOVER Initiative Autopsy Group. Troxel AB, et al. PLoS One. 2024 Jan 10;19(1):e0285645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285645. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38198481 Free PMC article.
  • Post-Acute Sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) After Infection During Pregnancy.
    Metz TD, Reeder HT, Clifton RG, Flaherman V, Aragon LV, Baucom LC, Beamon CJ, Braverman A, Brown J, Cao T, Chang A, Costantine MM, Dionne JA, Gibson KS, Gross RS, Guerreros E, Habli M, Hadlock J, Han J, Hess R, Hillier L, Hoffman MC, Hoffman MK, Hughes BL, Jia X, Kale M, Katz SD, Laleau V, Mallett G, Mehari A, Mendez-Figueroa H, McComsey GA, Monteiro J, Monzon V, Okumura MJ, Pant D, Pacheco LD, Palatnik A, Palomares KTS, Parry S, Pettker CM, Plunkett BA, Poppas A, Ramsey P, Reddy UM, Rouse DJ, Saade GR, Sandoval GJ, Sciurba F, Simhan HN, Skupski DW, Sowles A, Thorp JM Jr, Tita ATN, Wiegand S, Weiner SJ, Yee LM, Horwitz LI, Foulkes AS, Jacoby V; NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Consortium*. Metz TD, et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Sep 1;144(3):411-420. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005670. Epub 2024 Jul 11. Obstet Gynecol. 2024. PMID: 38991216
  • Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in Children.
    Rao S, Gross RS, Mohandas S, Stein CR, Case A, Dreyer B, Pajor NM, Bunnell HT, Warburton D, Berg E, Overdevest JB, Gorelik M, Milner J, Saxena S, Jhaveri R, Wood JC, Rhee KE, Letts R, Maughan C, Guthe N, Castro-Baucom L, Stockwell MS. Rao S, et al. Pediatrics. 2024 Mar 1;153(3):e2023062570. doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-062570. Pediatrics. 2024. PMID: 38321938 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Therapeutic trials for long COVID-19: A call to action from the interventions taskforce of the RECOVER initiative.
    Bonilla H, Peluso MJ, Rodgers K, Aberg JA, Patterson TF, Tamburro R, Baizer L, Goldman JD, Rouphael N, Deitchman A, Fine J, Fontelo P, Kim AY, Shaw G, Stratford J, Ceger P, Costantine MM, Fisher L, O'Brien L, Maughan C, Quigley JG, Gabbay V, Mohandas S, Williams D, McComsey GA. Bonilla H, et al. Front Immunol. 2023 Mar 9;14:1129459. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1129459. eCollection 2023. Front Immunol. 2023. PMID: 36969241 Free PMC article. Review.

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard 2023 [cited 2023 9 March]. https://covid19.who.int/.
    1. Davis HE, Assaf GS, McCorkell L, Wei H, Low RJ, Re’em Y, et al.. Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;38:101019. Epub 20210715. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101019 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Groff D, Sun A, Ssentongo AE, Ba DM, Parsons N, Poudel GR, et al.. Short-term and Long-term Rates of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2128568. Epub 20211001. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.28568 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Matt Bosworth PP, Daniel Ayoubkhani. Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 2 February 2023: Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom; 2023 [cited 2023 3 Feb 2023]. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/....
    1. Chen C, Haupert SR, Zimmermann L, Shi X, Fritsche LG, Mukherjee B. Global Prevalence of Post-Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Condition or Long COVID: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. J Infect Dis. 2022;226(9):1593–607. Epub 2022/04/17. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiac136 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data