Distinguishing post-COVID from long-COVID in adults: Development and validation of a biomarker signature using targeted proteomics and machine learning in a cross-sectional observational study

This study introduces a novel characterization of patients recovering from severe COVID-19 without long-COVID, enabling clearer differentiation between persistent and recovering trajectories. Combining clinical data, pulmonary function, and proteomic machine learning analysis provides insight into post-acute COVID-19 biology and identifies candidate biomarkers for improved diagnosis.