AI, blood biomarker spots long Covid patients with 96% accuracy

New York, Sep 27: Scientists have, for the first time, identified specific blood biomarkers that can accurately identify patients with long Covid.

In the research, published in the journal Nature, they used an artificial intelligence based algorithm and showed that long Covid patients have clear differences in immune and hormone function from patients without the condition.

“These findings are important — they can inform more sensitive testing for long Covid patients and personalised treatments for long Covid that have, until now, not had a proven scientific rationale,” said principal investigator David Putrino, Professor at Icahn Mount Sinai.

“This work is so exciting because it is one of the first to show us clear, measurable differences in blood biomarkers of people with long Covid compared with people who recovered fully from an acute infection and a group of people who have never been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).

“This is a decisive step forward in the development of valid and reliable blood testing protocols for long Covid,” Putrino said.

The team analysed a total of 271 patients between January 2021 and June 2022 using machine learning-based algorithm.

They were divided into three groups: those with no prior SARS-CoV-2 infection; those who had fully recovered from a clinically confirmed case of Covid-19; those with active long Covid symptoms for at least four months or more after confirmed Covid-19 infection (median time of long-term symptoms was 12 months since the acute infection).