ABSTRACT
Background: Inflammatory markers are pivotal for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and sepsis. This study compared markers between hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and those with bacterial sepsis. Methods: This retrospective single-centre cohort study included 50 patients with COVID-19 clinical stages II and III and 24 patients with bacterial sepsis. Both groups were treated according to the country's official standards. Leukocytes, C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, and D-dimer were registered at the time of patient's admission and 24, 48, and 72 h after initiating intrahospital treatment. Results: Upon admission, marker levels were high, with a significant decrease at 72 h after antibiotic therapy in the sepsis group. The leukocyte count was higher in deceased patients with sepsis. The mean ferritin levels were 1105 mcg/dl for COVID-19 and 525 mcg/dL for sepsis. Higher ferritin levels in COVID-19 (P = 0.001) seemed to be a predictor of higher mortality. Upon admission, the median D-dimer level was 0.68 mg/L for COVID-19 and 3 mg/L for patients with sepsis, whether recovered or deceased. As D-dimer, procalcitonin levels were higher in patients with sepsis (P = 0.001). CRP levels were equally elevated in both entities but higher in deceased patients with COVID-19. Conclusion: Ferritin was the main inflammatory marker for COVID-19, and leukocytes, procalcitonin, and D-dimer were the main markers of sepsis. Markers that were most affected in deceased patients were CRP for COVID-19 and leukocyte for sepsis. The therapeutic implications of these differences require further study.
ABSTRACT
To the Editor:To date, there have been around 178 million confirmed SARS CoV-2 infections, and more than 3 million deaths worldwide. The global war against COVID-19 has been fought mainly in three battlegrounds: the hospitals, the communities, and in the minds of people. As populations around the globe still struggle to establish or keep the public health strategies needed, they also face an infodemic, especially regarding vaccines.All vaccines can have rare adverse events, but during the pandemic, the report of isolated cases of blood clots associated to two of the anti-COVID vaccines that use adenovirus as a viral vector (AZD1222 and Johnson & Johnson) have raised concerns in the population, as well as emergency reviews, safety signals, and vaccination pauses. [...]
Subject(s)
Thrombosis , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Vaccines , Coronavirus , Coronavirus Infections , Betacoronavirus , Vaccines , VaccinationABSTRACT
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