Covid-19 research updates

At the outbreak of Covid-19 the BRC refocused its work and resources on tackling the virus.

UCLH paused all trials unless they were related to Covid-19, or where the treatment involved was essential for serious or life-threatening conditions. This meant the halted trials could no longer screen or recruit patients.

As the pandemic recedes, UCLH is restarting paused trials to ensure ground-breaking research continues and that all the input of patients into trials is not lost.

This page will provide news and updates on studies and access to guidance for researchers and patients.

View facts and figures about UCLH and Covid-19 research.

Online tool identifies patients with Covid-19 at highest risk of deterioration

9 January 2021

A new risk-stratification tool which can accurately predict the likelihood of deterioration in adults hospitalised with COVID-19 has been developed by researchers.

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Antiviral drugs trialled in the early stages of Covid-19

8 January 2021

UCLH has begun recruiting participants to a trial looking at whether two antiviral drugs given to people who have tested positive for Covid-19 can stop the virus replicating.

No association between COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome

15 December 2020

Neuroscientists at UCL and UCLH have found no significant association between Covid-19 and the potentially paralysing and sometimes fatal neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Men more likely to need intensive care treatment for Covid-19

15 December 2020

Men are almost three times as likely as women to be admitted to intensive care and have 40% higher odds of dying from Covid-19, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL, Great Ormond Street Hospital and the University of Cape Town.

Cancer and its treatment both risks factors for mortality following Covid-19

1 December 2020

Cancer and cancer treatment are both independent risk factors for mortality following Covid-19 infection, according to UCLH led research which highlights the ongoing need to protect cancer patients during the pandemic.

Breakthrough in Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial which involved UCLH

23 November 2020

The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, today announces interim trial data from its ‘Phase 3’ trials which involved UCLH that show its candidate vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 and offers a high level of protection.

Latest Covid-19 research news magazine out in electronic format

12 November 2020

The BRC has published a magazine for patients and the public on the latest COVID-19 research at UCLH.

Most hospitalized COVID-19 patients have debilitating symptoms weeks after discharge

12 November 2020

More than two-thirds of patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 continue to suffer from debilitating symptoms more than seven weeks after being discharged, according to a new study carried out at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCLH), Barnet Hospital, and the Royal Free Hospital.

UCLH first in world to trial inhaled surfactant for Covid-19

9 November 2020

UCLH is the first hospital in the world to treat a Covid-19 patient with nebulised (inhaled) surfactant – a substance which makes it easier to breathe – as part of a clinical trial. Lung surfactant is a substance that reduces the work of breathing and prevents the lungs from collapsing. In some

COVID-19 linked to greater disability after stroke

6 November 2020

People with COVID-19 who experience a stroke appear to be left with greater disability after the stroke, according a study led by UCL and UCLH researchers.