Serum IL-28A/IFN-λ2 is linked to disease severity of COVID-19.

Type III interferons (IFNs) play an important role in respiratory viral infections, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to determine whether the expression of serum type III IFNs predicted disease severity among patients with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients admitted to a single hospital between March 21, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Patients were divided into mild to moderate I (MM) and moderate II to severe (MS) groups based on the COVID-19 severity classification developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. A total of 257 patients were included in the analysis. Human interleukin-28A (IL-28A/IFN-λ2) expression was significantly lower, and interleukin (IL)-6 expression was significantly higher in the MS group than in the MM group (both p < 0.001). In addition, IL-28A/IFN-λ2 was statistically significantly inversely correlated with the time from disease onset to negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR results (p = 0.049). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that IL-28A/IFN-λ2 was an independent predictor of disease severity (p = 0.021). The low expression of IL-28A/IFN-λ2 may serve as a serum biomarker that predicts the severity of COVID-19, possibly through the mechanism of delayed viral elimination.

A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Methylprednisolone Pulse Therapy for COVID-19 Pneumonia

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with fatal acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can be ameliorated by methylprednisolone pulse therapy, thereby reducing the risk of progression to respiratory failure and death. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone pulse therapy for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. In this retrospective, observational cohort study, seventy patients (age, 35–91 years) who were admitted to Saitama Medical University Hospital in Japan between March 2020 and January 2021 due to COVID-19 pneumonia were included. The difference in mortality between the methylprednisolone pulse therapy (n = 22) and dexamethasone therapy (n = 48) groups was the primary outcome. Between-group differences in the average length of intensive care unit stay, duration of invasive mechanical ventilation, and incidence of treatment-related adverse events were the secondary outcomes. The methylprednisolone pulse therapy group showed a significantly lower mortality rate (3.8% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.006) and increased survival rate compared with the dexamethasone therapy group (p = 0.044). Additionally, without statistical significance, the average length of intensive care unit stay tended to be shorter in the methylprednisolone pulse therapy group (11.5 ±6.1 days) than in the dexamethasone therapy group (22.3 ±23.1 days) (p = 0.793). The average duration of invasive mechanical ventilation also tended to be shorter in the methylprednisolone pulse therapy group (15.3 ±10.1 vs. 28.8 ±9.2 days, p = 0.120). There were no significant differences in the incidence of treatment-related serious adverse events between the two groups. In conclusion, methylprednisolone pulse therapy for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia significantly reduced mortality and increased the survival rate compared to conventional dexamethasone therapy.

Utility of SpO2/FiO2 ratio for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral opacities in the ICU.

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) with bilateral opacities causes fatalities in the intensive care unit (ICU). It is often difficult to identify the causes of AHRF at the time of admission. The SpO2 to FiO2 (S/F) ratio has been recently used as a non-invasive and alternative marker of the PaO2/FiO2 (P/F) ratio in acute respiratory failure. This retrospective cohort study was conducted from October 2010 to March 2019 at the Showa University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. We enrolled 94 AHRF patients who had bilateral opacities and received mechanical ventilation in ICU to investigate their prognostic markers including S/F ratio. Significant differences were observed for APACHE II, S/F ratio, PaO2/FiO2 (P/F) ratio, and ventilator-free-days at day 28 for ICU mortality, and for age, S/F ratio, P/F ratio, duration of mechanical ventilation, and ventilator-free days at day 28 for hospital mortality. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the S/F ratio was significantly and independently associated with the risk of death during in ICU (p = 0.003) and hospitalization (p = 0.002). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) based on the S/F ratio were significantly greater than those based on simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) II and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) for ICU mortality (0.785 in S/F ratio vs. 0.575 in SAPS II, p = 0.012; 0.785 in S/F ratio vs 0.594 in SOFA, p = 0.021) and for hospital mortality (0.701 in S/F ratio vs. 0.502 in SAPS II, p = 0.012; 0.701 in S/F ratio vs. 0.503 in SOFA, p = 0.005). In the subanalysis for bacterial pneumonia and interstitial lung disease groups, the AUC based on the S/F ratio was the greatest among all prognostic markers, including APACHE II, SAPS II, and SOFA. The S/F ratio may be a useful and noninvasive predictive prognostic marker for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral opacities in the ICU.

Combination treatment of short-course systemic corticosteroid and favipiravir in a successfully treated case of critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia with COPD.

Use of systemic corticosteroids for the treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is not well described. A 58-year-old man with fever and progressive dyspnea was admitted to the Showa University Hospital, and showed severe respiratory failure which needed mechanical ventilation. His chest computed tomography scanning showed emphysema and bilateral ground-glass opacity caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. He received 30 mg prednisolone for five days with antiviral drug of favipiravir, and was successfully extubated on day five. A SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test became negative on day 15. He was discharged on day 21. Serum IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 converted to positive on day 7 and they kept positive on day 54 for both IgM and IgG. Combination treatment of short-course systemic corticosteroid and favipiravir might improve the prognosis for critically ill COVID-19 pneumonia with COPD without negative influence on viral clearance or antibody production.