Could breathing your own air fix long COVID brain fog?
NCT ID NCT06928506
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests a device called Hi-OxSR that lets people rebreathe a small amount of their own carbon dioxide (CO2) to treat brain fog and fatigue from Long COVID. Researchers think CO2 may calm inflammation in the body. The trial will enroll 120 adults and compare different treatment doses to find the safest and most effective approach.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Hi-OxSR device (rebreathing exhaled carbon dioxide)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, at-home treatment for brain fog and fatigue in Long COVID.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early phase 2 trial with only 120 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatment involves rebreathing CO2, which could cause discomfort or side effects.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥18 years; 2. Positive COVID-19 test by nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test, antibody or antigen tests at least 3 months prior to randomization; OR Presumed COVID-19 assessed by the site investigator (no positive COVID-19 test) with acute illness after October 15, 2019. 3. Patients should be treated with standard of care therapies (as discussed in the study manual) for at least 4 weeks prior to entry into trial. 4. Lingering COVID-19 symptoms beyond 3 months from onset of acute COVID and symptoms have lasted at least 2 months. The onset of COVID is considered the earliest of two dates: the date of positive test or the date of first symptoms; 5. Lingering symptoms from COVID-19 present at the time of randomization. "Lingering symptoms of Long COVID" must include self-reported cognitive dysfunction symptoms. 6. Female patients of childbearing potential (as assessed by the overseeing Investigator) who are sexually active must agree to practice true abstinence or use effective methods of contraception while on study treatment. Effective methods of contraception must be discussed and approved by the overseeing Investigator. 7. Must be able to provide informed consent and both willing and able to comply with study requirements. 8. Oxygen saturation on room air ≥92% at screening measured by pulse oximeter. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients who had mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygen (ECMO) for COVID-19; 2. Current end-organ failure, organ transplantation, or current hospitalization in acute care hospital; 3. Contraindications to all of the study interventions; 4. Co-enrolment in another interventional trial (co-enrolment in an observational study is permitted); 5. Currently pregnant or breastfeeding. 6. Known physician diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction prior to COVID infection 7. Use of an investigational drug/device or other interventions within 30 days of screening 8. Use of home oxygen (O2) at baseline 9. History of pulmonary hypertension 10. Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis 11. Moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 12. History of narcolepsy 13. Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the investigator would compromise the safety of the participant or the quality of the data.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
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Kaye Edmonton Clinic
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
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University Health Network
RECRUITINGToronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can slow breathing retrain the nervous system to fight long COVID?
- Can a brain zapping headset restore focus after long COVID?
- Mindfulness may offer relief for long COVID sufferers
- Can wearables decode the mystery of fatigue?
- Beetroot juice: a natural boost against long COVID fatigue?
- A One-Two punch for long COVID? supplement and therapy put to the test