ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Serum ferritin is an acute-phase protein whose level is increased in several inflammatory diseases. This review describes the structure and function of ferritin as well as its association with the prognosis of patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE/PubMed databases, Scopus, and Web of Science for prospective and review articles that examined ferritin and its association with COVID-19 severity. Based on all these articles and clinical experience, a review was constructed and full texts of the articles that were retrieved were accessed. RESULTS: All COVID-19 related studies conducted in 2020, which performed serum ferritin testing, clearly showed ferritin as a biomarker of COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients. Ferritin levels in severe patients were significantly increased relative to those in non-severe patients (p < 0.001). Non-survivors had significantly higher ferritin levels than the survivors (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Determination of ferritin levels was specific and sensitive for early disease severity prediction in patients with COVID-19. Serum ferritin can also be used for predicting the response to COVID-19 vaccines.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Ferritins , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19 Vaccines , Ferritins/blood , Humans , Prospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the impact and distribution of blood groups in different ethnicities and the extent of susceptibility to infection with COVID-19 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 4,609 COVID-19 patients from five ethnic groups to assess the impact and distribution of different blood types and susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. The study was carried out between November 2020 and June 2021 in the College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University in collaboration with the General Directorate of Health Affairs, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Blood group (A, B, and O) distributions in 2,617 COVID-19 patients with local control populations was done. Our study found that in both Saudi and non-Saudi populations, blood groups O and A were associated with higher infection rates, whereas blood group AB was associated with lower infection rates (p=0.0001). COVID-19 seems to be associated with blood groups A, B, and AB (RR=3.23, 95% CI=2.702-3.821, p=0.0001). COVID-19 risk was lower in people with O blood group (RR=0.783, 95% CI=0.733-0.836, p=0.0001). South Asians had higher odds of COVID-19 infection when compared to Saudi cases and other ethnic groups (OR=1.12, 95 % CI: 1.074-1.24, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: We emphasize that COVID-19 infection is not proportional among ethnically related blood groups. Notably, RhD-negative protect against COVID-19, whereas A and O blood types are more susceptible. Thus, when assessing COVID-19 prognosis and vaccination priority, blood groups A and O are critical.