Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19.

We report acute antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 285 patients with COVID-19. Within 19 days after symptom onset, 100% of patients tested positive for antiviral immunoglobulin-G (IgG). Seroconversion for IgG and IgM occurred simultaneously or sequentially. Both IgG and IgM titers plateaued within 6 days after seroconversion. Serological testing may be helpful for the diagnosis of suspected patients with negative RT-PCR results and for the identification of asymptomatic infections.

Serum Albumin Levels are a Predictor of COVID-19 Patient Prognosis: Evidence from a Single Cohort in Chongqing, China.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 infections are still at pandemic levels globally and there are currently no specific drugs to treat these infections. Previous studies have demonstrated that serum albumin levels were abnormally low in COVID-19 patients and might be used as a prognosis biomarker. Supplemental albumin has been used as an experimental therapeutic method. However, dynamic evaluation of albumin in patients with COVID-19 was limited and whether serum albumin could predict the prognosis of these patients is unknown. METHODS: We enrolled 79 COVID-19 patients in the present study and reviewed electronic medical laboratory records. Data was processed using SPSS software (Version 20.0) and correlation analysis was performed between serum albumin and other clinical and laboratory findings. RESULTS: Serum albumin levels were gradually decreased both in severe and non-severe COVID-19 patients. Moreover, 17.7% of the patients presented with hypoalbuminemia at least one time during 3 consecutive weekly time points. The hypoalbuminemia group displayed more severe disease and comorbidity that included fever, fatigue, headache, and dizziness on admission. Moreover, serum albumin levels were positively correlated with lymphocyte and RBC numbers, Hb and prealbumin levels as well as with total T cell numbers and the presence of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. In contrast, there was a negative correlation with C-reactive protein levels and this was an indicator of patient recovery. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that hypoalbuminemia was common in COVID-19 patients and its levels were linked to disease severity. Patients with fever, fatigue and headache or dizziness on admission were more likely to experience hypoalbuminemia. Dynamic monitoring of serum albumin is therefore necessary and should be performed during COVID-19 patient treatments as a tool for evaluating the prognosis of COVID-19 infections.