ABSTRACT
Background and aim: Patients with chronic kidney disease including those undergoing hemodialysis (HD) constitute a particularly challenging group regarding COVID-19 vaccination. The present study aimed to compare the rate of reinfection after two and three doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in HD patients. Patients and methods: The study included 80 HD patients who received three doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, there were another 80 patients who received only two doses of the vaccine. Patients in the latter group were selected based on propensity matching score with 1:1 ratio. Patients were monitored for post-vaccination COVID-19 infection using PCR examination of nasopharyngeal swabs. Patients were also monitored for post-vaccination complications including general complaints (headache, fever, fatigue), injection site complaints (arm pain, swelling, itching, rash), musculoskeletal complaints (muscle spasm or pain, joint pain) and others. All patients were followed for six months. Results: The present study included 80 patients submitted to COVID-19 vaccination with two doses of Sinopharm vaccine (GI) and other 80 patients who received three doses of the same vaccine (GII). At the end of follow up, 11 patients (13.8 %) in GI caught COVID-19 infection. In contrast, no patient in GII had infection (P<0.001). Comparison between patients who had COVID-19 infection and those without infection revealed that the former subgroup had significantly lower BMI (23.3 ± 2.3 versus 27.5 ± 8.1 Kg/m2), higher frequency of associated Hepatitis C (HCV) infection (54.6 % versus 2.9 %, P<0.001) and higher serum ferritin levels [median (IQR): 1101.0 (836.0-1564.0) versus 675.0 (467.0-767.7) ng/mL, P=0.01]. Binary logistic regression analysis identified high serum ferritin levels [OR (95% CI): 0.014 (0.001-0.15), P<0.001] and associated HCV infection [OR (95% CI): 0.99 (0.98-1.01), P=0.02] as significant predictors of post-vaccination COVID-19 infection in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: A three dose regime of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine associated with significantly lower rate of reinfection COVID-19 infection in HD patients. Infected patients had significantly lower BMI, higher frequency of HCV and higher ferritin levels.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Vitamin D is a hormone with essential roles in both cellular metabolism and immunity. It controls calcium homeostasis and modulates innate and adaptive immune system responses. Many studies suggested an association between vitamin D deficiency and clinical outcomes of covid-19 infection, while others failed to document such a relation. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical and prognostic significance of baseline vitamin D levels in hospitalized Egyptian covid-19 patients. Patients and Methods: The present retrospective study included 300 hospitalized covid-19 patients. Patients were submitted to standard clinical, laboratory, and radiological assessment. According to vitamin D levels, patients were classified to have normal levels (≥30), insufficient levels (20-29) or deficient levels (<20). Results: According to their vitamin D levels, patients were classified into those with normal vitamin D (n=135), others with vitamin D insufficiency (n=114), and a third group with vitamin D deficiency (n=51). Patients with normal vitamin D levels and vitamin D insufficiency are significantly younger [median (IQR): 49.0 (39.0-57.0) versus 51.0 (40.0-61.0) and 55.0 (43.0-62.0) years, respectively, p=0.012] and had less frequency of severe disease (24.4% versus 40.4% and 51.0%, respectively) when compared with those with vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, they had significantly lower levels of D dimer [median (IQR): 1.5 (0.9-2.5) versus 1.8 (0.9-3.1) and 2.0 (1.0-3.2)], CRP [median (IQR): 58.0 (30.0-120.0) versus 76.0 (42.5-160.0) and 105.0 (74.0-208.0), respectively, p<0.001], ferritin [median (IQR): 458.0 (240.0-759.0) versus 606.0 (433.8-897.8) and 820.0 (552.0-1087.0), respectively, p<0.001], and procalcitonin [median (IQR): 290.0 (152.0-394.0) versus 372.5 (227.0-530.5) and 443.0 (272.0-575.0), respectively, p<0.001]. Only lower vitamin D levels were significant predictors of mortality in multivariate analysis [OR (95% CI): 0.88 (0.84-0.92), p<0.001]. Conclusion: Low vitamin D levels are related to exaggerated inflammatory response, disease severity, and poor clinical outcome in hospitalized covid-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: Natural killer (NK) and B1a cells are implicated in innate immune surveillance against chronic hepatitis C virus (CHCV). NK group 2D (NKG2D) receptor is important for B cell differentiation. This study was designed to assess whether B1a cells and NK Cells expressing NKG2D are implicated in post-hepatitis C infection hepatocellular carcinoma (post-HCV HCC) and cirrhosis using flow cytometry and investigate the association between NK-expressing NKG2D and B1a in complications of CHCV infection. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 111 participants were included and divided into the post-HCV HCC (n = 50), post-HCV liver cirrhosis (n = 31), and CHCV (n = 30) groups. Results: The percentage of B1a cells (B1a%) and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of NKG2D (NKG2D MFI) showed a significant increase in the CHCV group compared with those in the post-HCV liver cirrhosis and post-HCV HCC groups (P < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between NKG2D MFI and B1a% (r = 0.6, P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that NKG2D MFI and B1a% differentiated between patients with CHCV infection and those with HCC with a sensitivity of 92% and 98%, respectively, and differentiated between patients with CHCV infection and those with liver cirrhosis with a sensitivity of 94% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: Downregulation of B1a frequency and NKG2D intensity is implicated in the progression of CHCV infection to cirrhosis and HCC. NKG2D receptor is associated with the frequency of circulating B1a cells. NKG2D intensity and B1a% can be used as indicators of CHCV progression.
