ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical features and prognosis of children and their family members with family clusters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection under the admission mode of parent-child ward. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 190 children and 190 family members with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection who were admitted to Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, the designated hospital for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), April 8 to May 10, 2022. RESULTS: Both the child and adult groups were mainly mild COVID-19, and the proportion of mild cases in the child group was higher than that in the adult group (P<0.05). Respiratory symptoms were the main clinical manifestations in both groups. Compared with the adult group, the child group had higher incidence rates of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and wheezing (P<0.05) and lower incidence rates of nasal obstruction, runny nose, cough, dry throat, throat itching, and throat pain (P<0.05). Compared with the child group, the adult group had higher rates of use of Chinese patent drugs, traditional Chinese medicine decoction, recombinant interferon spray, cough-relieving and phlegm-eliminating drugs, and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir tablets (P<0.05). Compared with the adult group, the child group had a lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (30.5% vs 71.1%, P<0.001) and a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid (P<0.05). The patients with mild COVID-19 had a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those with common COVID-19 in both groups (P<0.05). The patients with underlying diseases had a longer duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those without such diseases in both groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both children and adults with family clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection manifest mainly mild COVID-19. Despite lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in children, they have rapid disease recovery, with a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than adults, under the admission mode of parent-child ward.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Nucleic Acids , Adult , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Cough , Retrospective Studies , COVID-19 Vaccines , China/epidemiology , FamilyABSTRACT
The specific eradication of pathogenic T cells for the treatment of allograft rejections and autoimmune disorders without impairment of overall immune function is a fundamental goal. Here, cell-sized poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles (PLGA MPs) were prepared as a scaffold to co-display the peptide/major histocompatibility complex (pMHC, target antigen) and anti-Fas monoclonal antibody (apoptosis-inducing molecule) for the generation of biodegradable killer MPs. Ovalbumin (OVA) antigen-targeted killer MPs significantly depleted OVA-specific CD8+ T cells in an antigen-specific manner, both in vitro and in OT-1 mice. After intravenous administration, the killer MPs predominantly accumulated in the liver, lungs, and gut of OT-1 mice with a retention time of up to 48 hours. The killing effects exerted by killer MPs persisted for 4 days after two injections. Moreover, the H-2Kb alloantigen-targeted killer MPs were able to eliminate low-frequency alloreactive T cells and prolong alloskin graft survival for 41.5 days in bm1 mice. Our data indicate that PLGA-based killer MPs are capable of specifically depleting pathogenic T cells, which highlights their therapeutic potential for treating allograft rejection and autoimmune disorders.
