• Benedetta Maria Bonora, Marella Marassi, Paola Fogar, Jenny Zuin, Roberta Cappellari, Serena Marinello, Anna Ferrari, Annamaria Cattelan, Angelo Avogaro, Daniela Basso, and Gian Paolo Fadini.
• Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Padua, Italy.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2024 Apr 1; 54 (4): e14150e14150.

Background And AimsAn acute depletion of circulating haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) occurs during COVID-19, especially among patients with a poorer disease course. We herein examined whether HSPCs levels at hospital admission for COVID-19 predict 1-year mortality and the long-COVID syndrome.Materials And MethodsPatients hospitalized for COVID-19 in an infectious disease ward were consecutively enrolled. Circulating HSPC levels were assessed by flow cytometry as cells expressing CD34 and/or CD133. Follow-up was performed for 12 months after hospitalization through the review of electronic medical records and demographic local registers.ResultsThe study included 100 patients, 36 of whom reported symptoms of long-COVID and 20 died during follow-up. The reduction of 1-SD of HSPCs was associated with a 3- to 5-fold increase in the risk of 1-year mortality. Age, admission hyperglycaemia, C-reactive protein peak, liver enzymes, the need of high-flow oxygen and/or invasive ventilation were predictors of mortality at univariate analysis. Among pre-existing comorbidities, coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease, but not diabetes, were associated with 1-year mortality. In multivariate analyses, HSPCs remained significantly associated with 1-year mortality independently of confounders. The development of pneumonia an in-hospital treatment with glucocorticoids and convalescent plasma were associated with long-COVID symptoms at follow-up. HSPCs, diabetes and other comorbidities were not predictors of long-COVID.ConclusionsIn a cohort of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, lower HSPC levels at the time of admission were independent predictors of 1-year mortality. However, COVID-19 severity, but not HSPC level, was significantly associated with the development of long-COVID symptoms.© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Clinical Investigation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

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