Table 1.

20 highest-ranked research ideas according to their overall RPS and AEA

	Research idea	Subtheme	Answerability	Feasibility	Timeliness	Burden	Equity	RPS	AEA (%)
1	Investigation of the correlation between prognostic scores using the ISARIC 4C Mortality Score* at hospital admission and morbidity at 3 months and 12 months after hospital discharge in patients with and without pre-existing airways disease	1	1·00	1·00	0·98	0·56	0·78	0·864	83·8
2	Assessment of whether 3-month and 6-month post-COVID-19 fatigue, sarcopenia, anxiety, and depression scores are worse in patients with pre-existing airways disease than in those without pre-existing airways disease, and whether any difference is significant when adjusted for severity of in-patient disease	1	0·96	0·91	0·96	0·66	0·77	0·852	84·6
3	Investigation of whether patients treated for acute COVID-19 with pre-existing airways disease are at higher risk of future cardiovascular complications (eg, myocardial infarction or stroke at 6 months and 12 months after hospital discharge) than those without pre-existing airways disease	3	0·95	0·90	0·94	0·65	0·81	0·849	81·7
4	Identification of the predictors of hospital readmission after COVID-19 in patients with pre-existing airways disease compared with those without pre-existing airways disease	1	0·93	0·88	0·89	0·71	0·83	0·847	83·3
5	Development and validation of tools for remote monitoring of symptoms, and for self-monitoring of symptoms, especially in patients with pre-existing airways disease	5	0·89	0·88	0·90	0·76	0·78	0·841	82·1
6	Investigation of the incidence of and risk factors for new-onset symptomatic obstructive airways disease after COVID-19, defined clinically or with objective diagnostic tests (eg, spirometry and CT imaging at 3 months and 12 months after hospital discharge)	1	0·97	0·91	0·91	0·64	0·77	0·840	80·8
7	Assessment of whether recovery from severe COVID-19 pneumonia is worse for current smokers with COPD than for non-smokers with COPD	1	0·98	0·90	0·96	0·60	0·76	0·838	80·8
8	Comparison of the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of exercise and education-based rehabilitation to improve health status with standard care in patients with pre-existing airways disease	2	0·90	0·81	0·89	0·74	0·81	0·828	82·1
9	Examination of the benefits of progressive or bespoke exercise rehabilitation delivered live or virtually for patients with airways disease and persistent symptoms or physical limitations after hospital discharge	2	0·92	0·87	0·86	0·74	0·74	0·826	81·3
10	Assessment of whether outcomes of patients admitted to hospital with acute COVID-19 and pre-existing airways disease treated with pre-COVID-19 long-term anticoagulants are better than for those not treated with long-term anticoagulants (eg, using in-patient length of stay, discharge rates, and long COVID-19 markers at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after hospital discharge)	3	0·90	0·88	0·90	0·63	0·81	0·825	77·5
11	Investigation of the effects of ethnicity on recovery of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and pre-existing asthma or COPD	1	0·95	0·90	0·95	0·56	0·75	0·819	77·1
12	Examination of whether use of inhaled corticosteroids in the preceding 12 months by patients with pre-existing airways disease is associated with greater in-patient COVID-19 disease burden (eg, on the SOFA score, length of hospital stay, or ventilation status) or increased post-COVID-19 rates of fatigue or sarcopenia	1	0·94	0·88	0·88	0·67	0·71	0·817	77·5
13	Identification of the predictors of a new diagnosis of bronchiectasis after COVID-19 on CT scans at 6 months after hospital discharge (eg, disease severity, length of stay, clinical history of sputum production, or sputum microbiology at ≥3 months)	3	0·93	0·84	0·91	0·60	0·76	0·808	72·9
14	Assessment of the effects of nutritional status (nutritional depletion or obesity) on recovery from COVID-19 in patients with airways disease and whether this can be modified by nutritional interventions	1	0·87	0·79	0·80	0·78	0·78	0·804	77·9
15	Estimation of the incidence of pulmonary embolism up to 1 year after acute COVID-19	1	0·95	0·95	0·98	0·47	0·67	0·802	78·8
16	Comparison of rates of return to work at 6 months and 12 months between patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 with and without pre-existing airways disease	4	0·96	0·93	0·95	0·51	0·66	0·802	78·3
17	Examination of whether changes on chest x-ray and CT scans in patients with COVID-19 correlate with subsequent long-term symptoms and outcomes	3	0·96	0·95	0·82	0·57	0·68	0·796	76·3
18	Examination of whether patients with asthma and COPD who have had severe COVID-19 pneumonia develop additional long-term restrictive lung function impairment after recovery	3	0·94	0·88	0·82	0·56	0·76	0·793	77·9
19	Identification of the characteristics of patients with pre-existing airways disease that predict the need for non-invasive ventilation	1	0·91	0·89	0·93	0·48	0·74	0·791	77·1
20	Investigation of the effects of type and duration of anticoagulation treatment given after venous thromboembolism or as prophylaxis in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and pre-existing airways disease	2	0·92	0·82	0·82	0·59	0·75	0·780	72·5

See main text for definition of subthemes. Scores for the predefined priority-setting criteria are also presented. AEA=average expert agreement. COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ISARIC=International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium.³⁴ RPS=research priority score. SOFA=Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

^*A risk stratification score used to predict in-hospital mortality for patients with COVID-19.