Impact of Inflammation-Related Genes on COVID-19: Prospective Study at Turkish Cohort.

The pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a high mortality rate and poses a significant threat to the population. The disease may progress with mild symptoms or may cause the need for intensive care, depending on many factors. In this study, it was aimed to determine if there is a tendency due to genetic factors in COVID-19 patients. Ninety-four of 188 patients with mild clinical and 94 with severe clinical symptoms were included in the study. The targeted panel including coagulopathy (F2, F5), viral invasion (ACE2), and inflammation (CXCL8, IFNAR2, IFNL4, IL10, IL2, IL6, IRF7, TLR3, TLR7, TNF) related genes was performed sequenced by the next generation sequencing (NGS). The variants found were classified and univariate analyses were performed to select candidate variables for logistic model. Risk factors and variants were compared. It was revealed that the presence of 2 or more risk factors caused the disease to progress severely (p < 0.001). Heterozygous IRF7:c.1357-23dup variant had a 2.5 times higher risk for mild disease compared to severe disease. Other variants were found to be more significant in mild disease. Since polymorphic variants were not evaluated in the literature, the findings of our study could not be compared with the literature. However, as variants that may be effective in the severity of infections may differ according to ethnicity. This study has the feature of being a guide for subsequent studies to be carried out especially in Turkish population. Clinical course of the COVID-19 is likely to depend on a variety of risk factors, including age, sex, clinical status, immunology and genetic factors.

Post-COVID syndrome: A single-center questionnaire study on 1007 participants recovered from COVID-19.

Post recovery manifestations have become another concern in patients who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Numerous reports have shown that COVID-19 has a variety of long-term effects on almost all systems including respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, psychiatric, and dermatological systems. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of the post-COVID syndrome among COVID-19 survivors and to determine the factors associated with persistent symptoms. This prospective study enrolled in patients with COVID-19 followed in hospital or outpatient clinics in Ankara City Hospital. We performed a special questionnaire to inquire about the presence of persistent symptoms beyond 12 weeks from the first diagnosis. Demographic data, comorbid diseases, characteristics of acute COVID-19, presence of persistent symptoms by systems, and knowledge about outpatient clinic visits after recovery were assessed. Of a total of 1007 participants, 39.0% had at least one comorbidity, and 47.5% had persistent symptoms. Fatigue/easy fatigability, myalgia, and loss of weight were the most frequent persistent symptoms (overall 29.3%) followed by respiratory symptoms (25.4%). A total of 235 participants had visited outpatient clinics due to several reasons during the post-COVID-19 period, and 17 of them were hospitalized. Severe acute COVID-19, hospitalization, and presence of comorbidity were independent factors for the development of persistent symptoms. Fully understanding the spectrum of the post-COVID syndrome is essential for appropriate management of all its long-term effects. Our study once again underlined the fact that the prevalence of post-COVID syndrome is higher than expected and concerns many systems, and a multidisciplinary follow-up should be provided to COVID-19 survivors in the post recovery period.