Regional Resource Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Modeling Study

Laboratory biomarker predictors for disease progression and outcome among Egyptian COVID-19 patients

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic resulted in more than five hundred million infected cases worldwide. The current study aimed to screen the correlation of different laboratory findings with disease severity and clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among Egyptian patients to obtain prognostic indicators of disease severity and outcome.

A total of 112 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were examined. According to the severity of the disease, these patients were divided into three main groups: mild, moderate and severe cases. In addition, clinical characteristics and laboratory findings, including Hb, platelet count, white blood cell count, lymphocyte percentage, neutrophil percentage, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), D-dimer, highly sensitive C-reactive protein (HS-CRP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatinine, were measured.

The presence of hypertension and/or diabetes was found to be a significant risk factor for disease severity and poor outcome. Increased respiratory rate, levels of SpO₂, HS-CRP, D-dimer, NLR, ALT, LDH, lymphopenia and neutrophilia, as well as changes in chest computed tomography (CT), were associated with increased disease severity and fatal consequences. Highly sensitive C-reactive protein, D-dimer, NLR and LDH constituted excellent predictors for both disease severity and death.

Laboratory biomarkers, such as HS-CRP, D-dimer, NLR and LDH, are excellent predictors for both disease severity and death. They can predict mortality in patients at the time of admission secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection and can help physicians identify high-risk patients before clinical deterioration.

Exploiting the molecular basis of age and gender differences in outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infections

Motivation: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (coronavirus disease, 2019; COVID-19) is associated with adverse outcomes in patients. It has been observed that lethality seems to be related to the age of patients. While ageing has been extensively demonstrated to be accompanied by some modifications at the gene expression level, a possible link with COVID-19 manifestation still need to be investigated at the molecular level. Objectives: This study aims to shed out light on a possible link between the increased COVID-19 lethality and the molecular changes that occur in elderly people. Methods: We considered public datasets of ageing-related genes and their expression at the tissue level. We selected human proteins interacting with viral ones that are known to be related to the ageing process. Finally, we investigated changes in the expression level of coding genes at the tissue, gender and age level. Results: We observed a significant intersection between some SARS-CoV-2 interactors and ageing-related genes, suggesting that those genes are particularly affected by COVID-19 infection. Our analysis evidenced that virus infection particularly involves ageing molecular mechanisms centred around proteins EEF2, NPM1, HMGA1, HMGA2, APEX1, CHEK1, PRKDC, and GPX4. We found that HMGA1 and NPM1 have different expressions in the lung of males, while HMGA1, APEX1, CHEK1, EEF2, and NPM1 present changes in expression in males due to ageing effects. Conclusion: Our study generated a mechanistic framework to clarify the correlation between COVID-19 incidence in elderly patients and molecular mechanisms of ageing. We also provide testable hypotheses for future investigation and pharmacological solutions tailored to specific age ranges.