At the beginning of March 2021, ZonMw will publish the new subsidy call for treatment at COVID-19. The purpose of this call is to answer knowledge gaps identified in the Knowledge Agenda COVID19 of the Federation of Medical Specialists (FMS) that relate to treatments.
COVID-19 knowledge gaps relevant to this call are:
- What is the frequency and what are the consequences of myocardial damage with COVID-19 and which interventions can we use to prevent short and long term myocardial damage?
- What is a good algorithm for safely removing someone from isolation after COVID-19?
- Does chest CT or PET / CT add value to clinical parameters for selection (and timing) of the most effective therapy for COVID-19, and to what extent is it predictive of chronic lung damage?
- What is the association of frailty and biological aging processes with disease course, mortality and functional outcomes in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in the elderly?
- Is the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) also predictive of outcomes for patients aged 70 and older living at home with a COVID-19 infection?
- What is the natural course of anosmia (lack of sense of smell) in the context of COVID-19 and can this be favorably influenced with (local) corticosteroids?
COVID-19 program specific relevance criteria:
- The research provides the urgently needed knowledge to answer the knowledge gap described in the COVID-19 Knowledge Agenda.
- The research is of great importance because it could impact the treatment of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic and its aftermath; or contribute to better preparedness for a possible next pandemic.
- The application must convincingly substantiate that research leads to implementable (interim) results in the short term (at least during the pandemic and also for the long term)
- The Netherlands is in a unique position to do this, whether it concerns research in which we can add value from the Netherlands to that which has already been deployed internationally;
- The research does not already take place elsewhere;
- A competent research group is available to tackle this in the short term (feasibility), unless there are compelling reasons such as obtaining an METC statement.
