Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the virus designated as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread widely throughout the world. Despite the strict global outbreak management and quarantine measures that have been implemented, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to rise, resulting in more than 290,000 deaths and representing an extremely serious threat to human life and health. ⋯ Pieces of evidence from current studies have shown that the cytokine storm may be an important factor in disease progression, even leading to multiple organ failure and death. This review provides an overview of the knowledge on the COVID-19 epidemiological profile, the molecular mechanisms of the SARS-CoV-2-induced cytokine storm and immune responses, the pathophysiological changes that occur during infection, the main antiviral compounds used in treatment strategies and the potential drugs for targeting cytokines, this information is presented to provide valuable guidance for further studies and for a therapeutic reduction of this excessive immune response.
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Besides SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing, serological testing is emerging as additional option in COVID-19 diagnostics. Aim of this study was to evaluate novel immunoassays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human plasma. ⋯ This study shows high "true" vs. low "false" positivity rates for the EDITM SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG ELISAs.
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To explore ABO blood group distribution and clinical characteristics in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ Patients with blood group A had an increased risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2, whereas blood group O was associated with a decreased risk, indicating that certain ABO blood groups were correlated with SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility. Blood type was related to some clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19.
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Observational Study
Lactate dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein as predictors of respiratory failure in CoVID-19 patients.
The dramatic worldwide CoVID-19 infection requires the identification of a reliable and inexpensive tool to quickly discriminate patients with a more unfavorable outcome. ⋯ LDH and CRP may be related to respiratory function (PaO2/FiO2) and be a predictor of respiratory failure in CoVID-19 patients. LDH and CRP should be considered a useful test for the early identification of patients who require closer respiratory monitoring and more aggressive supportive therapies to avoid poor prognosis.