Serum cystatin C and inflammatory factors related to COVID-19 consequences.

BACKGROUND: Besides impaired respiratory function and immune system, COVID-19 can affect renal function from elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) or serum creatinine (sCr) levels to acute kidney injury (AKI) and renal failure. This study aims to investigate the relationship between Cystatin C and other inflammatory factors with the consequences of COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 125 patients with confirmed Covid-19 pneumonia were recruited in this cross-sectional study from March 2021 to May 2022 at Firoozgar educational hospital in Tehran, Iran. Lymphopenia was an absolute lymphocyte count of less than 1.5 × 109/L. AKI was identified as elevated serum Cr concentration or reduced urine output. Pulmonary consequences were evaluated. Mortality was recorded in the hospital one and three months after discharge. The effect of baseline biochemical and inflammatory factors on odds of death was examined. SPSS, version 26, was used for all analyses. P-vale less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The highest amount of co-morbidities was attributed to COPD (31%; n = 39), dyslipidemia and hypertension (27%; n = 34 for each) and diabetes (25%; n = 31). The mean baseline cystatin C level was 1.42 ± 0.93 mg/L, baseline creatinine was 1.38 ± 0.86 mg/L, and baseline NLR was 6.17 ± 4.50. Baseline cystatin C level had a direct and highly significant linear relationship with baseline creatinine level of patients (P < 0.001; r: 0.926). ). The average score of the severity of lung involvement was 31.42 ± 10.80. There is a direct and highly significant linear relationship between baseline cystatin C level and lung involvement severity score (r = 0.890, P < 0.001). Cystatin C has a higher diagnostic power in predicting the severity of lung involvement (B = 3.88 ± 1.74, p = 0.026). The mean baseline cystatin C level in patients with AKI was 2.41 ± 1.43 mg/L and significantly higher than patients without AKI (P > 0.001). 34.4% (n = 43) of patients expired in the hospital, and the mean baseline cystatin C level of this group of patients was 1.58 ± 0.90 mg/L which was significantly higher than other patients (1.35 ± 0.94 mg/L, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: cystatin C and other inflammatory factors such as ferritin, LDH and CRP can help the physician predict the consequences of COVID-19. Timely diagnosis of these factors can help reduce the complications of COVID-19 and better treat this disease. More studies on the consequences of COVID-19 and knowing the related factors will help treat the disease as well as possible.

Serum level of Vitamin D is associated with COVID-19 mortality rate in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Due to widespread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, identification of its risk factors and clinical characteristics are important. The aim of the present study was to assess Vitamin D levels in individuals with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-19 infection and to report on its potential as a predictive marker. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients, diagnosed with COVID-19 infection from February 16 to March 21, 2020, and referred to Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were enrolled in this study. Vitamin D analysis was undertaken on patient serum samples using a commercial kit (Pars Azmoon Co., Tehran, Iran). SPSS v. 22 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Vitamin D serum concentration was analyzed in a total of 317 patients whose mean age ± standard deviation was 62.05 ± 15 years and with 62.5% being male. A significant association of Vitamin D level and death was observed. Higher levels of serum Vitamin D had protection against death (odds ratio = 0.955 [95% confidence interval = 0.923-0.988], P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: As a preliminary study in the Iranian population who suffered COVID-19 disease, we identified that Vitamin D deficiency was associated with a higher death rate and intensive care unit admission.

A possible pathogenic role of Syndecan-1 in the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

A cell-surface heparan proteoglycan called Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) has multiple roles in healthy and pathogenic conditions, including respiratory viral infection. In this study, we explore the dynamic alternation in the levels of SDC-1 in cases with COVID-19. A total of 120 cases definitely diagnosed with COVID-19 were admitted to the Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from December 1, 2020, to January 29, 2021, and included in our study. Also, 58 healthy subjects (HS) were chosen as the control group. Patients were classified into two groups: 1) ICU patients and (63 cases) 2) non-ICU patients (57 cases). The dynamic changes of serum SCD-1, CRP, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, and Vit D levels a well as the disease activity were investigated in three-time points (T1-T3). Our results indicated that the COVID-19 patients had significantly increased SCD-1, CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-18 levels than in HS, while the Vit D levels in COVID-19 patients were significantly lower than HS. Further analysis demonstrated that the SCD-1, CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-18 levels in ICU patients were significantly higher than in non-ICU patients. Tracking dynamic changes in the above markers indicated that on the day of admission, the SCD-1, CRP, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-18 levels were gradually increased on day 5 (T2) and then gradually decreased on day 10 (T3). ROC curve analysis suggests that markers mentioned above, SDC-1, IL-6, and IL-18 are valuable indicators in evaluating the activity of COVID-19. All in all, it seems that the serum SDC-1 levels alone or combined with other markers might be a good candidate for disease activity monitoring.

Cutaneous hemorrhagic bullae in a patient with COVID-19: A case report.

COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan, China, and has spread rapidly around the world. The most important manifestation of COVID-19 was ARDS-like lung injury at first, but the involvement of other organs, such as kidney, heart, liver, and skin, was gradually reported. It is important to report and share all atypical manifestations of this disease to help other physicians to gain more knowledge about this new viral disease. As mentioned, there are also studies that show different types of cutaneous involvement in these patients, but due to the lack of more detailed studies in this field, and on the other hand, the possible usefulness of skin lesions as a diagnostic or alarming sign in the COVID-19 era, in this study we report a COVID-19 patient with a large hemorrhagic blister similar to sepsis-induced skin lesion. Despite the lack of common symptoms of the disease, the lung scan of the patient was positive for COVID-19.