POCOS Study

Welcome to the registration page of the POCOS study.
(POst-COVID COmplaints in Children Study)

Here you can register for the medical study questionnaires looking into Post-COVID complaints (long-COVID) in children.

What is the reason for the study?

A small group of children that have been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus still experiences complaints 12 weeks later. These complaints can be very different from child to child, but they often include fatigue. We call this Post-COVID or Long-COVID. It is unknown why some children get Long-COVID, why some don’t, and why some children only have mild complaints and others have very severe complaints that significantly impact their quality of life. We hope to better understand why this happens.

Additionally, in adults, there have been some reports of vaccination being beneficial for those suffering from Long-COVID. The complaints of some adults improved or disappeared after vaccination. We hope to study this potentially beneficial effect in children.

What does the study entail?

In this study we are researching why certain children get Long-COVID, the various forms that these complaints can take, and how the child’s immune system has responded to the virus. In a smaller subset of children, we also hope to determine if vaccination for COVID-19 helps with the Long-COVID complaints.

Who are we looking for?

• Children under the age of 18 years of age
• Children who, after a (suspected) COVID-19 infection, have persistent complaints for 12 weeks or longer.

What will be asked of you if you participate?

Children seen for this study are often referred to via a paediatrician who has excluded any other possible diagnosis or explanation for their complaints.

This website is for the digital questionnaires thatwill be sent by email at study inclusion, 6 months and 12 months.

If you have not yet been vaccinated against the coronavirus but are planning on getting a vaccination in the coming year, you might be asked if you want to take part in a second part of the study. If you wish to participate in this expanded group, we will ask you to also complete questionnaires at 1, 2, and 6 months after your vaccination.

Consent

If you are younger than 16 years old, your parents will have to also give their consent for your participation in the study. If you are 16 years old or older, you can decide for yourself. If you would like to participate, we ask for your informed consent to participate and your informed consent to use your collected data (coded) for research purposes.

If there are multiple children in your family with Long-COVID under the age of 18, they can all participate in the study. Each child will have to sign up separately.

For any questions or comments, you can contact the POCOS research team: pocos-questionnaire@amsterdamumc.nl

Kind regards,
Dr. S.W.J. Terheggen-Lagro, paediatric pulmonologist at Emma Paediatric Hospital, Amsterdam UMC
Dr. M.A. van Houten, Paediatrician Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem and Hoofddorp
Dr. G. Bieskbroek, Paediatrician at Emma Paediatric Hospital, Amsterdam UMC
Drs. C.R. Lap, Md and PhD candidate at UMC Utrecht and Emma Paediatric Hospital, Amsterdam UMC
Drs. L. Nooij, Md and PhD candidate at Emma Paediatric Hospital, Amsterdam UMC