ABSTRACT
Novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) grows with each passing day worldwide, and the number of infections is increasing. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, belongs to coronavirus, which is the same as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003. In this study, we analyzed and discussed the differences between coronaviruses of COVID-19 and SARS, as well as the intermediate hosts of the two coronaviruses, in order to provide a reference for the prevention and control of viral diseases from the perspective of wild animals, and also for the transmission of coronavirus.
ABSTRACT
We report a critically ill pregnant woman in the third trimester with severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 who presented to Xiaolan People's Hospital of Zhongshan in February 2020. The 32-year-old patient was admitted at 35 +2 gestational weeks with a 4-day history of a sore throat and a fever for three hours. The patient had been to Xiaogan City, Hubei Province, and the symptoms occurred during a period of self-isolation after back home. The condition of the patient deteriorated rapidly, with left-sided chest and back pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, progressing to respiratory failure and septic shock 7 hours after her admission. In view of her critical condition and a history of two previous cesarean sections, an emergency cesarean section was performed. Blood gas analysis of the mother before the operation suggested respiratory failure, respiratory acidosis, and metabolic acidosis. During the operation, a baby boy was born. The Apgar score of the boy, birth weight of 2 700 g, was one at 1, 5 and 10 minutes despite the resuscitation efforts. The neonate died after withdrawing treatment. The patient was treated with tracheal intubation ventilator and other supportive treatments after the operation. The result of the new coronavirus nucleic acid test, taken on admission, but which was reported after delivery, was positive. The patient was transferred to the designated hospital for further treatment and was recovering with the withdrawal of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventilation support at 26 and 36 days after surgery, respectively.
ABSTRACT
Currently, there are no approved specific antiviral agents for 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this study, ten severe patients confirmed by real-time viral RNA test were enrolled prospectively. One dose of 200 mL convalescent plasma (CP) derived from recently recovered donors with the neutralizing antibody titers above 1:640 was transfused to the patients as an addition to maximal supportive care and antiviral agents. The primary endpoint was the safety of CP transfusion. The second endpoints were the improvement of clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters within 3 days after CP transfusion. The median time from onset of illness to CP transfusion was 16.5 days. After CP transfusion, the level of neutralizing antibody increased rapidly up to 1:640 in five cases, while that of the other four cases maintained at a high level (1:640). The clinical symptoms were significantly improved along with increase of oxyhemoglobin saturation within 3 days. Several parameters tended to improve as compared to pre-transfusion, including increased lymphocyte counts (0.65*109/L vs. 0.76*109/L) and decreased C-reactive protein (55.98 mg/L vs. 18.13 mg/L). Radiological examinations showed varying degrees of absorption of lung lesionswithin 7 days. The viral load was undetectable after transfusion in seven patients who had previous viremia. No severe adverse effects were observed. This study showed CP therapy was welltolerated and could potentially improve the clinical outcomes through neutralizing viremia in severe COVID-19 cases. The optimal dose and time point, as well as the clinical benefit of CP therapy, needs further investigation in larger well-controlled trials.