ABSTRACT
Introduction: We aimed to compare the COVID-19 outcomes in unvaccinated and CoronaVac vaccinated older adults. Material(s) and Method(s): In this single-center study, patients aged >=65 years who were hospitalized for COVID-19 were retrospectively analyzed in two groups: unvaccinated and vaccinated. Result(s): A total of 742 patients were included. The mean age was 76.6+/-7.6 years. Of these, 46.1% (n=342) were male, 76.0% (n=564) were vaccinated. Among patients who were transferred to the intensive care unit (n=217), 206 (27.8%) received invasive mechanical ventilation support and 194 (26.1%) were died. In the multivariate analysis, advanced age (OR=1.03, 95%CI=1.01-1.06, p<0.01) and a high Charlson Comorbidity Index (OR=1.24, 95%CI=1.12-1.38, p<0.01) were predictors of mortality, while being vaccinated (OR=0.75, 95%CI=0.62-0.91, p<0.01) was associated with survival. Vaccination reduced the need for intensive care by 26.5% and mortality by 24.9 %. When the vaccinated group was evaluated, high Charlson Comorbidity Index (OR=1.428, 95%CI=1.14-1.64, p<0.01) was an independent predictor for mortality. However, booster vaccination in the last 130 days was the only protective factor that reduced mortality (p=0.04, 95%CI=0.43-0.99, OR=0.66) in multivariate analysis. Booster dose vaccination in the last 130 days reduced mortality by 33.8%. Conclusion(s): CoronaVac vaccination improved survival in hospitalized older adult patients (>=65 years old) with COVID-19. However, delaying the booster dose for more than 130 days were significantly associated with decreased survival. Therefore, older adults who completed their primary vaccination series with CoronaVac should not delay their booster dose to reduce the risk of death. Copyright © 2022, Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a severe case of brain and multiple organ involvement in a patient with COVID-19. Here, a 51-year-old male patient with multi-organ involvement due to COVID-19 infection and developing cardiac arrest is presented. MSCs were transplanted to the patient four times systematically and once intrathecally. As a result, the application of MSCs has been found to have a healing effect on organs in this patient with severe COVID-19 infection. In addition, transplantation of MSCs both systematically and intrathecally is considered to be effective in the treatment of the central nervous system (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 24). Keywords: mesenchymal stem cell, COVID-19, organ involvement.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/therapy , Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The gold standard for routine microbiological diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is quantitation of viral RNA in respiratory specimens by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) specific IgM and IgG antibodies in patient sera are additional diagnostic tests. It has been known that virus release begins a few days before clinical signs appear, and therefore, beginning from 2-3 days before the manifestation of clinical symptoms, virus RNA can be detected in the respiratory tract during the symptomatic period of the disease. Since the viral load is higher in lower respiratory tract samples such as bronchoalveolar lavage and tracheal aspirate, PCR positivity rate might be found higher compared to nasopharyngeal samples. Confirmatory PCR tests require specific equipment and trained personnel, and they are also time-consuming and costly. Antibody assays are simple, faster tests, do not require much equipment and applicable in any laboratory. They can even be performed with 2-3 drops of blood collected from the finger tip of patients using relatively inexpensive chromatographic-rapid tests. These tests can be used in the later period of the disease since specific antibodies appear on the 7-10th day of clinical signs in patients with COVID-19. Rapid antibody card tests have an average specificity and sensitivity, while antibody tests using microELISA have higher sensitivity and specificity.