ABSTRACT
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is being addressed through RT-PCR, a frontline diagnostic technique. We evaluated gene expression patterns to improve the accuracy and sensitivity of current diagnostic tests. We downloaded relevant next-generation sequencing (NGS) data from the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database, checked for quality, and mapped them onto the target reference sequence. It was determined that ORF1ab, N, S, and ORF8 genes are mainly expressed based on the results of the quantitative evaluation after normalization by HPRT and elimination of insufficient expression data. ORF8, ORF3a, and M genes were found to have higher expression values than the E gene as a routine RT-PCR detector gene (p*0.05). M gene expression values are also close to ORF8 values. Taking into account the importance of differential expression of genes in the design of diagnostic kits as well as the findings of from this study, it is likely that the M gene is worth further investigation due to its high expression and low mutation rate.
ABSTRACT
Background and purpose: There are controversies on the association between electrolytes and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its severity. Studies on these issues may help in resolving ambiguities. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between electrolyte indices and being infected with COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms using a meta-analysis. Materials and methods: A thorough search was done in national and international electronic databases using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. Quality assessment was conducted by Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) checklist. We estimated the standardized mean difference between electrolyte indices and the incident of COVID-19 infection and its severity.
ABSTRACT
Background and purpose: The association between ABO blood types and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been investigated in several studies but there are inconsistencies in results. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ABO blood types and COVID-19 infection based on serologic results. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional seroepidemiologic study was carried out in 1504 people living in Mazandaran province, north of Iran. Blood samples were drawn to determine blood groups. Also, IgG and IgM antibodies were measured by ELISA. Data analysis was done using Chisquare, Fisher’s exact test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses in SPSS V25. Results: The frequency of IgG positive among blood groups A, B, AB, and O was 12.7%, 11.8%, 9.4%, and 9.6%, respectively. After adjusting for suspicious confounding factors, the odds ratio of COVID-19 infection was 1.19 (95% CI:0.85-1.67) in blood group A, 1.33 (95% CI:0.94-1.87) in blood group B, 0.82 (95% CI:0.44-1.55) in blood group AB, and 0.70 (CI 95%:0.50-0.98) in blood group O based on serologic results (IgG+/IgM+). Conclusion: The odds ratio for COVID-19 was significantly lower (30%) in blood group O compared to other blood groups, so blood group O can be considered as a protective factor against COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Background and purpose: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Iran. Death toll due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is high in this country. The purpose of the present investigation was to provide more information on the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in north of Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in COVID-19 patients (n=80) attending Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, Iran 2020, who were confirmed for COVID-19 infection with CT-Scan or RT-PCR. Seventy healthy individuals were also examined as the control group. SPSS V19 was applied for data analysis. Results: In this study, 80 patients with COVID-19 (mean age: 57.22 ± 17.44 years old) and 70 healthy individuals (mean age: 48.69 ± 12.99 years) were studied. There were 38 and 35 males in these two groups, respectively. Serum Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in patients with COVID-19 than those in the control group (18.72 ± 12.53 vs. 30.86 ± 15.19 ng/ml, P< 0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that serum levels of Vitamin D were lower in patients with COVID-19 than healthy individuals and frequency of Vitamin D deficiency was higher in these patients. Hence, further studies are needed to clarify the role of serum Vitamin D concentrations in patients with COVID-19 infection.
ABSTRACT
Background: Coronavirus is a single-stranded RNA virus, causing an epidemic of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) worldwide in late 2019. Objectives: In addition to the clinical symptoms, laboratory diagnosis can greatly help diagnose the diseases;therefore, this study aimed to analyze laboratory parameters in patients with COVID-19. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the laboratory data of 2563 patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences were extracted from hospital information systems (HIS). The data were recorded on Excel and analyzed through t-test, chi-squared, and Fisher's exact tests in SPSS 19 at the significance level of P < 0.05. Results: Out of 2563 patients with a mean age of 55.1 +/- 16.7 years, 1409 (55%) were male, and 1154 (45%) were female with a mean age of 55.7 +/- 16.8, and 54.3 +/- 16.6 years, respectively. As the most frequent clinical findings, ESR, CRP, and LDH were increased by 83.5%, 71%, and 69.3% of the patients, respectively. Other research findings included lymphopenia, disturbed INR, abnormal SGOT, abnormal alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which were significantly higher in men than in women and was different between age groups. Conclusions: Conducting simple, convenient, and inexpensive laboratory tests can be helpful in the diagnosis of COVID-19.