Researchers reveal that long term effects of post-COVID fatigue are currently under reported and poorly understood against the wider backdrop of the global pandemic. Fatigue can linger for several months after Covid-19, leaving people feeling dull and finding it difficult to concentrate and recall memories.

The results of a clinical study conducted with the probiotic formulation Slab51 (Sivomixx^®800) in patients during hospitalization for COVID-19 have been recently published in Frontiers in Nutrition ⁽¹⁾. Slab51 formulation was administered in a high dose of 2,400 billion bacteria daily to twenty-four COVID-19 patients for their entire hospital stay (median 23 days) in addition to the usual standard of care. Another group of thirty-four COVID-19 patients received only standard of care for comparison purposes. Six months after discharge from the hospital, the doctors at the Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy registered a significantly lower proportion of subjects positive for fatigue in patients supplemented with Slab51, compared to those on standard care only (41.7% (10/24) vs. 91% (31/34); p<0.01). Metabolomic testing confirmed better glucose and energy pathways utilization in the Slab51 treated patients.

Previous studies have reported the benefits of Slab51 for COVID‑19 patients during the hospital stay ^(2-6). These additional findings support the adjuvant treatment with Slab51 to improve metabolic homeostasis and reduce chronic symptoms correlated to the central nervous system after hospital discharge.

The authors concluded that administration of the Slab51 probiotic formulation during hospitalisation positively affects the subject’s performance months later.