Introduction and Context
Post COVID-19 condition (PCC), often called “long COVID,” has become a persistent public-health and clinical challenge since the acute phase of the pandemic. Patients report multi-system symptoms — fatigue, breathlessness, cognitive difficulties, pain, sleep disturbance and mental health problems — that can persist for months and impair quality of life and function. Clinical trials and intervention studies aiming to treat PCC have proliferated, but heterogeneity in which outcomes are measured, when they are assessed, and how they are measured has made it difficult to compare results, synthesize evidence, and accelerate effective care strategies.
In response, Pang et al. convened a multi-stakeholder effort and published “A Core Outcome Set for Clinical Trials on Post COVID-19 Condition: ‘What,’ ‘When,’ and ‘How’ to Measure” (J Evid Based Med. 2025). The PROMINENT outcome of that work is COS‑PCC: a consensus-derived, pragmatic set of core outcomes and recommended measurement instruments for PCC trials. This article summarizes the COS‑PCC, explains why it was needed, details the chosen outcomes and instruments, and discusses implications and remaining controversies for clinicians, trialists, and policy-makers.
