Treatment of Long Coronavirus Disease in Japan: A Nationwide Study of Symptom-Associated Drug Prescriptions.

Long coronavirus disease (COVID) is characterized by symptoms persisting or reappearing at least 2 months post-recovery from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although Long COVID symptoms have been widely studied, data on drug prescriptions for patients with Long COVID in Japan remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze drug utilization patterns for Long COVID treatment using a nationwide database in Japan, with the goal of providing basic data to support the establishment of standard treatments in the future. The Medical Data Vision COVID-19 dataset was used to identify patients diagnosed with Long COVID between January 15, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Symptoms and prescribed medications were extracted, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the relationship between symptoms and drug prescriptions. Among 652016 patients with COVID-19, 3769 (0.6%) developed Long COVID. Common symptoms included fatigue, bronchial asthma-like symptoms, and insomnia. Acetaminophen was the most prescribed drug in the first month of diagnosis. Other frequently prescribed drugs included dextromethorphan, l-carbocisteine, and polaprezinc. From 3 months post-diagnosis, prescriptions for Hochu-ekki-to (a traditional Japanese herbal medicine; Kampo medicine) and polaprezinc increased, especially among patients aged 30-50 years. Long COVID in Japan is characterized by a wide range of symptoms, leading to symptom-based drug prescriptions, particularly fatigue, respiratory issues, and taste disturbances. These findings offer insights into the pharmacological management of Long COVID in Japan, highlighting the need for further research on optimal treatments in the future.