Cardiac troponin and COVID-19 severity: Results from BIOCOVID study.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial injury is a common finding in COVID-19 strongly associated with severity. We analysed the prevalence and prognostic utility of myocardial injury, characterized by elevated cardiac troponin, in a large population of COVID-19 patients, and further evaluated separately the role of troponin T and I. METHODS: This is a multicentre, retrospective observational study enrolling patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized in 32 Spanish hospitals. Elevated troponin levels were defined as values above the sex-specific 99th percentile upper reference limit, as recommended by international guidelines. Thirty-day mortality was defined as endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 1280 COVID-19 patients were included in this study, of whom 187 (14.6%) died during the hospitalization. Using a nonspecific sex cut-off, elevated troponin levels were found in 344 patients (26.9%), increasing to 384 (30.0%) when a sex-specific cut-off was used. This prevalence was significantly higher (42.9% vs 21.9%; P < .001) in patients in whom troponin T was measured in comparison with troponin I. Sex-specific elevated troponin levels were significantly associated with 30-day mortality, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 3.00 for total population, 3.20 for cardiac troponin T and 3.69 for cardiac troponin I. CONCLUSION: In this multicentre study, myocardial injury was a common finding in COVID-19 patients. Its prevalence increased when a sex-specific cut-off and cardiac troponin T were used. Elevated troponin was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, irrespective of cardiac troponin assay and cut-offs to detect myocardial injury. Hence, the early measurement of cardiac troponin may be useful for risk stratification in COVID-19.

[C677T and A1298C MTHFR polymorphisms in the etiology of neural tube defects in Spanish population]. / Implicación de los polimorfismos C677T y A1298C del gen MTHFR en el desarrollo de los defectos del tubo neural en la población española.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The etiology of neural tube defects (NTDs) is multifactorial. The presence of mutated genotypes of C677T and A1298C polymorphisms, and their combined heterozygosity, have been considered risk factors for the occurrence and recurrence of NTDs in some populations. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: This case-control study included 159 healthy controls, 27 NTDs patients, 28 patients' mothers and 23 siblings. The polymorphism study was performed by PCR. For fragment digestion, we used the restriction enzymes Hinf I (C677T) and Mbo II (A1298C). RESULTS: There was no significant difference (p = 0.991) in C677T genotypes between controls (CC: 35%, CT: 50% and TT: 15%) and patients (37, 52 and 11%, respectively), patients' mothers (39, 50 and 11%, respectively) and siblings (35, 48 and 17%, respectively). The prevalence of A1298C genotypes in controls (AA: 49%, AC: 45% and CC: 6%) was similar (p = 0.917) to the prevalence in patients (41, 56 and 4%, respectively), patients' mothers (43, 50 and 7%, respectively) and siblings (52, 39 and 9%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The absence of differences in the two polymorphisms between these groups makes us conclude that there is no association with NTDs in the Spanish population.

Implicación de los polimorfismos C677T y A1298C del gen MTHFR en el desarrollo de los defectos del tubo neural en la población española / C677T and A1298C MTHFR polymorphisms in the etiology of neural tube defects in Spanish population

FUNDAMENTO Y OBJETIVO: La etiología de los defectos de tubo neural (DTN) es multifactorial. La presencia del genotipo mutado para los polimorfismos C677T y A1298C y su heterocigosidad combinada se han considerado factores de riesgo en determinadas poblaciones. SUJETOS Y MÉTODO: El estudio de casos y controles estuvo formado por 159 controles sanos, 27 pacientes afectados de espina bífida, 28 madres y 23 hermanos de pacientes con espina bífida. El estudio de los polimorfismos se realizó mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) y digestión de los fragmentos obtenidos con las enzimas de restricción Hind I (C677T) y MboII (A1298C). RESULTADOS: No se han encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p = 0,991) entre la prevalencia de los genotipos C677T del grupo control (CC: 35 por ciento; CT: 50 por ciento, y TT: 15 por ciento) y los obtenidos en el grupo de pacientes (37, 52 y 11 por ciento, respectivamente), grupo de madres de pacientes (39, 50 y 11 por ciento, respectivamente) y grupo de hermanos de pacientes (35, 48 y 17 por ciento, respectivamente). Asimismo, la prevalencia de los genotipos A1298C dentro del grupo control (AA: 49 por ciento; AC: 45 por ciento, y CC: 6 por ciento) fue similar (p = 0,917) a la encontrada en el grupo de pacientes (41, 56 y 4 por ciento, respectivamente), grupo de madres de pacientes (43, 50 y 7 por ciento, respectivamente) y grupo de hermanos de pacientes (52, 39 y 9 por ciento, respectivamente). CONCLUSIONES: La ausencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas de los dos polimorfismos estudiados en los distintos grupos hace concluir que éstos no participan en la etiología de los DTN en la población española (AU)