ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and predictive roles of lymphocyte subsets in COVID-19 patients. METHOD: We evaluated lymphocyte subsets and other clinical features of COVID-19 patients, and analyzed their potential impacts on COVID-19 outcomes. RESULTS: 1. Lymphocyte subset counts in the peripheral blood of patients with COVID-19 were significantly reduced, especially in patients with severe disease. 2. In patients with non-severe disease, the time from symptom onset to hospital admission was positively correlated with total T cell counts. 3. Among COVID-19 patients who did not reach the composite endpoint, lymphocyte subset counts were higher than in patients who had reached the composite endpoint. 4. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed significant differences in COVID-19 patients, classified by the levels of total, CD8+, and CD4+ T cells at admission. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that total, CD8+, and CD4+ T cell counts in patients with COVID-19 were significantly reduced, especially in patients with severe disease. Lower T lymphocyte subsets were significantly associated with a higher occurrence of composite endpoint events. These subsets may help identify patients with a high risk of composite endpoint events.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Lymphocyte Subsets/physiology , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Adult , COVID-19 , Female , Humans , Lymphocyte Count , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
In late December 2019, China reported cases of respiratory illness in humans that involved a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. On March 20, 2020, the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Brazil was diagnosed, and by now, we present the report on the first case of COVID among transplant recipients in our country. A liver and kidney transplant patient with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia without respiratory failure was treated in a clinical multimodal strategy consisting of symptomatic support therapy, immunosuppression reduction, use of anti-coronavirus drugs and heparin leading to a progressive improvement of patient symptoms till discharge. The authors also present a comprehensive review of published cases.