Risk factors for prolonged virus shedding of respiratory tract and fecal in adults with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: The dynamic alteration and comparative study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA shedding pattern during treatment are limited. This study explores the potential risk factors influencing prolonged viral shedding in COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 126 COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this retrospective longitudinal study. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to estimate the potential risk factors. RESULTS: 38.1% (48/126) cases presented prolonged respiratory tract viral shedding, and 30 (23.8%) cases presented prolonged rectal swab viral shedding. Obesity (OR, 3.31; 95% CI, 1.08-10.09), positive rectal swab (OR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.53-7.7), treatment by lopinavir/ritonavir with chloroquine phosphate (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.04-6.03), the interval from onset to antiviral treatment more than 7 days (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.04-4.93), lower CD4+ T cell (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99) and higher NK cells (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02-1.20) were significantly associated with prolonged respiratory tract viral shedding. CD3-CD56+ NK cells (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76-0.99) were related with prolonged fecal shedding. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity, delayed antiviral treatment, and positive SARS-CoV-2 for stool were independent risk factors for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding of the respiratory tract. A combination of LPV/r and abidol as the initial antiviral regimen was effective in shortening the duration of viral shedding compared with LPV/r combined with chloroquine phosphate. CD4+ T cell and NK cells were significantly associated with prolonged viral shedding, and further studies are to be warranted to determine the mechanism of immunomodulatory response in virus clearance.

Serum glucose, lactate dehydrogenase and hypertension are mediators of the effect of body mass index on severity of COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 has a broad clinical spectrum. We investigated the role of serum markers measured on admission on severity as assessed at discharge and investigated those which relate to the effect of BMI on severity. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data from 610 COVID-19 cases hospitalized in the province of Zheijang, China were investigated as risk factors for severe COVID-19 (assessed by respiratory distress) compared to mild or common forms using logistic regression methods. Biochemical markers were correlated with severity using spearman correlations, and a ROC analysis was used to determine the individual contribution of each of the biochemical markers on severity. We carried out formal mediation analyses to investigate the extent of the effect of body mass index (BMI) on COVID-19 severity mediated by hypertension, glycemia, Lactose Dehydrogenase (LDH) at the time of hospitalization and C-Reactive Protein levels (CRP), in units of standard deviations. Results: The individual markers measured on admission contributing most strongly to prediction of COVID-19 severity as assessed at discharge were LDH, CRP and glucose. The proportion of the effect of BMI on severity of COVID-19 mediated by CRP, glycemia or hypertension, we find that glucose mediated 79% (p < .0001), LDH mediated 78% (p < .0001), hypertension mediated 66% (p < .0001); however, only 44% (p < .005) was mediated by systemic inflammation (CRP). Conclusion: Our data indicate that a larger proportion of the effect of BMI on severity of COVID-19 is mediated by glycemia and LDH levels whereas less than half of it is mediated by systemic inflammation.

Role of Drugs Used for Chronic Disease Management on Susceptibility and Severity of COVID-19: A Large Case-Control Study.

This study aimed to investigate whether specific medications used in the treatment chronic diseases affected either the development and/ or severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a cohort of 610 COVID-19 cases and 48,667 population-based controls from Zhejiang, China. Using a cohort of 578 COVID-19 cases and 48,667 population-based controls from Zhejiang, China, we tested the role of usage of cardiovascular, antidiabetic, and other medications on risk and severity of COVID-19. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index and for presence of relevant comorbidities. Individuals with hypertension taking calcium channel blockers had significantly increased risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-2.3) of manifesting symptoms of COVID-19, whereas those taking angiotensin receptor blockers and diuretics had significantly lower disease risk (OR = 0.22, 95% CI 0.15-0.30 and OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.19-0.58, respectively). Among those with type 2 diabetes, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (OR = 6.02, 95% CI 2.3-15.5) and insulin (OR = 2.71, 95% CI 1.6-5.5) were more and glucosidase inhibitors were less prevalent (OR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.1-0.3) among with patients with COVID-19. Drugs used in the treatment of hypertension and diabetes influence the risk of development of COVID-19, but, not its severity.

Clinical features of COVID-19 convalescent patients with re-positive nucleic acid detection.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic that has rapidly spread worldwide. Increasingly, confirmed patients being discharged according to the current diagnosis and treatment protocols, follow-up of convalescent patients is important to knowing about the outcome. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed among 98 convalescent patients with COVID-19 in a single medical center. The clinical features of patients during their hospitalization and 2-week postdischarge quarantine were collected. RESULTS: Among the 98 COVID-19 convalescent patients, 17 (17.3%) were detected positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid during 2-week postdischarge quarantine. The median time from discharge to SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid re-positive was 4 days (IQR, 3-8.5).The median time from symptoms onset to final respiratory SARS-CoV-2 detection of negative result was significantly longer in re-positive group (34 days [IQR, 29.5-42.5]) than in non-re-positive group (19 days [IQR, 16-26]). On the other hand, the levels of CD3-CD56 + NK cells during hospitalization and 2-week postdischarge were higher in re-positive group than in non-re-positive group (repeated measures ANOVA, P = .018). However, only one case in re-positive group showed exudative lesion recurrence in pulmonary computed tomography (CT) with recurred symptoms. CONCLUSION: It is still possible for convalescent patients to show positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection, but most of the re-positive patients showed no deterioration in pulmonary CT findings. Continuous quarantine and close follow-up for convalescent patients are necessary to prevent possible relapse and spread of the disease to some extent.