Hannah Thurgur

and 5 more

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may be associated with long-term health problems termed Long COVID or post COVID-19 syndrome. Symptoms can include fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, pain, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances. There are few treatments available. Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) may reduce some of the common symptoms associated with Long COVID as they are known to ameliorate these symptoms occurring in other conditions. We conducted a single arm open label feasibility trial of the safety and tolerability of a full spectrum cannabidiol (CBD)-dominant CBMP for treating the symptoms of Long COVID. The treatment phase ran for a total of 21 weeks, followed by ~3 weeks without the study drug. Participants received up to 3 mL of MediCabilis 5% CBD Oil (50 mg CBD/mL, <2 mg THC/mL) per day orally. We recruited 12 (1 male, 11 female) individuals diagnosed with Long COVID into the trial. Monthly patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) of common symptoms and daily self-report of symptoms were collected via a smartphone app. Key measures of heart rate, activity, sleep, and oxygen saturation were assessed using wearable technology. All patients adhered to the treatment protocol for the duration of the study and there were no serious adverse events. Response rates for the research assessments were high with over 90% completion of PROMs and daily self-report. CBD-dominant CBMPs are safe and well tolerated in individuals diagnosed with Long COVID. Future work with larger samples and incorporating a control group should test the efficacy of this treatment.