ABSTRACT
Introduction: Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) has been shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and suggested as a therapeutic agent for COVID-19. Furthermore, epidemiological association of high prevalence of Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and regional severity of COVID-19-impact has been hypothesized. In our study setting, the estimated prevalence rates of mild (PI*MZ, PI*SS or PI*MS) and moderate-to-severe AATD (PI*ZZ or PI*SZ) are high, 9% and 0.2%, respectively. Our primary aim was to examine the prevalence rate of AATD among hospitalized COVID-19-patients. Methods: In this prospective observational study, enrollment occurred from December 2020 to January 2021 in two COVID-19-units at Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Case definition was a patient hospitalized due to COVID-19. Patients were screened for AATD with PI-typing and if results were inconclusive, PCR for the S- and Z-genes were performed. Patients were categorized as severe or moderate COVID-19 and 30-day-mortality data were collected. The primary outcome was prevalence rate of AATD. The secondary outcome investigated association between presence of mild AATD and severe COVID-19. Results: We enrolled 61 patients with COVID-19. Two patients out of 61 (3%) had mild AATD (PI*MZ) and none had moderate-to-severe AATD. 30/61 (49%) had severe COVID-19. Both patients with mild AATD developed severe COVID-19. Yet, presence of AATD was not significantly associated with severe COVID-19 (p=0.24). Conclusion: Mild AATD (PI*MS or PI*MZ) was rare in a small cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in a study setting with a high background prevalence of AATD.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Immunosuppressed patients are particularly vulnerable to severe infection from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), risking prolonged viremia and symptom duration. In this study we describe clinical and virological treatment outcomes in a heterogeneous group of patients with severe immunosuppression due to various causes suffering from COVID-19 infection, who were all treated with convalescent plasma (CCP) along with standard treatment. METHODS: We performed an observational, retrospective case series between May 2020 to March 2021 at three sites in Skåne, Sweden, with a population of nearly 1.4 million people. All patients hospitalized for COVID-19 who received CCP with the indication severe immunosuppression as defined by the treating physician were included in the study (n = 28). RESULTS: In total, 28 severely immunocompromised patients, half of which previously had been treated with rituximab, who had received in-hospital convalescent plasma treatment of COVID-19 were identified. One week after CCP treatment, 13 of 28 (46%) patients had improved clinically defined as a decrease of at least one point at the WHO-scale. Three patients had increased score points of whom two had died. For 12 patients, the WHO-scale was unchanged. CONCLUSION: As one of only few studies on CCP treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with severe immunosuppression, this study adds descriptive data. The study design prohibits conclusions on safety and efficacy, and the results should be interpreted with caution. Prospective, randomized trials are needed to investigate this further.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Immunization, Passive , Immunocompromised Host , COVID-19/therapy , Humans , Prospective Studies , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Sweden , COVID-19 SerotherapyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Convalescent plasma has been tried as therapy for various viral infections. Early observational studies of convalescent plasma treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients were promising, but randomized controlled studies were lacking at the time. The objective of this study was to investigate if convalescent plasma is beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19. RESULTS: Hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 and an oxygen saturation below 94% were randomized 1:1 to receive convalescent plasma in addition to standard of care or standard of care only. The primary outcome was number of days of oxygen treatment to keep saturation above 93% within 28 days from inclusion. The study was prematurely terminated when thirty-one of 100 intended patients had been included. The median time of oxygen treatment among survivors was 11 days (IQR 6-15) for the convalescent plasma group and 7 days (IQR 5-9) for the standard of care group (p = 0.4, median difference -4). Two patients in the convalescent plasma group and three patients in the standard of care group died (p = 0.64, OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.08-2.79). Thus no significant differences were observed between the groups. Trial registration ClinicalTrials NCT04600440, retrospectively registered Oct 23, 2020.