Extracellular vesicle proteomics and phosphoproteomics identify pathways for increased risk in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Recent studies suggest that extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19. However, their role in the interaction between COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes (T2D) has not been addressed. Here, we characterized the circulating EV proteomic and phosphoproteomic landscape in patients with and without T2D hospitalized with COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 acute respiratory illness (RSP). We detected differentially expressed protein and phosphoprotein signatures that effectively characterized the study groups. The trio of immunomodulatory and coagulation proteins C1QA, C1QB, and C1QC appeared to be a central cluster in both the COVID-19 and T2D functional networks. PKCß appeared to be retained in cells by being diverted from EV pathways and contribute to the COVID-19 and T2D interaction via a PKC/BTK/TEC axis. EV-shuttled CASP3 and ROCK1 appeared to be coregulated and likely contribute to disease interactions in patients with COVID-19 and T2D. Predicted activation of AMPK, MAPK, and SYK appeared to also play important roles driving disease interaction. These results suggest that activated cellular kinases (i.e., PKC, AMPK, MAPK, and SYK) and multiple EV-shuttled kinases (i.e., PKCß, BTK, TEC, MAP2K2, and ROCK1) may play key roles in severe COVID-19, particularly in patients with comorbid diabetes.

Features of COVID-19 adult patients and the treatment in Indonesia: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a new disease that causes clinical symptoms that vary from mild to severe. As a new disease, there is no standard treatment for the disease. Several drugs are used to treat COVID-19, most of which were previously used for other diseases, and the efficacy in COVID-19 is not yet known. This study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 therapy in the early phase of the pandemic. Methods: In this study, we evaluate data on the characteristics of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in several hospitals in Indonesia from March until December 2020. We also evaluate the therapy given and the results of the therapy. Results: Most hospitalized patients in this study were mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. The most common combination therapy was chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin (79.4%). A small number of patients received chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine without Azithromycin (9.3%), and only a few did not get chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine therapy (10.8%). The clinical outcome appeared to be better in the chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin group than in the other groups. The mortality rate was lower in the chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin group (2.6%) compared to those in the chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine group (52%) and the group without chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine (38%). However, the chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin group had better baseline characteristics and received more additional medications, such as oseltamivir, corticosteroid, and levofloxacin, rather than levofloxacin, the other groups. Conclusion: Hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Indonesia from March until December 2020 mostly had mild to moderate COVID-19. Most of them received treatment combinations consisting of chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin. The most common combination therapy for hospitalized COVID-19 patients was chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin. The clinical symptom improvement was seen mainly in this group.

Inpatient dermatology consultations during COVID 19 pandemic in a tertiary referral center.

Since the COVID-19 infection first appeared in December 2019, patient profile of outpatient and inpatient clinics has changed. Various cutaneous findings associated with COVID-19 have been reported in the literature. The main objective of this study was to describe and analyze the profile of the consultations requested from dermatology department during the COVID pandemic. Retrospective, cohort study. In this study, we observed the dermatology consultations of the hospitalized patients over a period of 2 months, corresponding to the peak of COVID outbreak in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey. We reviewed the inpatient dermatology consult database retrospectively. Both pediatric and adult dermatology inpatient consultations were evaluated. A total of 166 inpatient dermatology consultations were requested from dermatology department during March-May, 2020. The mean age of the patients was 53.12 (1-89) years. Almost 32.5% (n = 54) of dermatology consultations were requested from the COVID wards and the COVID intensive care unit. The second most common consultations were requested from internal medicine departments (n = 46, 27.7%). The most common indications for the consultations were cutaneous infections (36%), followed by inflammatory disorders (32%), and urticaria (11%). Dermatology consultations have an essential role on the management of hospitalized patients, especially at that pandemic time. Careful dermatological examination improves diagnostic accuracy in skin disorders and skin manifestations of COVID-19 infection that provides an early diagnosis and treatment, helps to improve the quality of the patient care and management.