Filterability of Erythrocytes in Patients with COVID-19.

For the first time, the influence of COVID-19 on blood microrheology was studied. For this, the method of filtering erythrocytes through filters with pores of 3.5 µm was used. Filterability was shown to significantly decrease with the increasing severity of the patient's condition, as well as with a decrease in the ratio of hemoglobin oxygen saturation to the oxygen fraction in the inhaled air (SpO2/FiO2). The filterability of ≤ 0.65, or its fast decrease during treatment, were indicators of a poor prognosis. Filterability increased significantly with an increase in erythrocyte count, hematocrit and blood concentrations of hemoglobin, albumin, and total protein. The effect of these parameters on the erythrocyte filterability is directly opposite to their effect on blood macrorheology, where they all increase blood viscosity, worsening the erythrocyte deformability. The erythrocyte filterability decreased with increasing oxygen supply rate, especially in patients on mechanical ventilation, apparently not due to the oxygen supplied, but to the deterioration of the patients' condition. Filterability significantly correlates with the C-reactive protein, which indicates that inflammation affects the blood microrheology in the capillaries. Thus, the filterability of erythrocytes is a good tool for studying the severity of the patient's condition and his prognosis in COVID-19.

The efficacy and safety of levilimab in severely ill COVID-19 patients not requiring mechanical ventilation: results of a multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled phase III CORONA clinical study.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III CORONA clinical trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IL-6 receptor inhibitor levilimab (LVL) in subjects with severe COVID-19. SUBJECTS: The study included 217 patients. The eligible were men and non-pregnant women aged 18 years or older, hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. TREATMENT: 206 subjects were randomized (1:1) to receive single subcutaneous administration of LVL 324 mg or placebo, both in combination with standard of care (SOC). 204 patients received allocated therapy. After the LVL/placebo administration in case of deterioration of symptoms, the investigator could perform a single open-label LVL 324 mg administration as the rescue therapy. METHODS: The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients with sustained clinical improvement on the 7-category ordinal scale on Day 14. All efficacy data obtained after rescue therapy administration were considered missing. For primary efficacy analysis, all subjects with missing data were considered non-responders. RESULTS: 63.1% and 42.7% of patients in the LVL and in the placebo groups, respectively, achieved sustained clinical improvement on Day 14 (P = .0017). The frequency of adverse drug reactions was comparable between the groups. CONCLUSION: In patients with radiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, requiring or not oxygen therapy (but not ventilation) with no signs of other active infection administration of LVL + SOC results in an increase of sustained clinical improvement rate. TRAIL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at the US National Institutes of Health (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT04397562).

A Case of Moderately Severe COVID-19 in a Healthcare Worker in Russia: Virus Isolation and Full Genome Sequencing.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is probably the most studied one in history from both clinical and molecular-epidemiological perspectives. Nonetheless, data on the correlation between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral genotypes and COVID-19 symptoms caused by them are still scarce. In this report, we present a moderately severe COVID-19 case in a healthcare worker in Moscow, Russia, supplemented with the data on its causative agent's phenotype regarding in vitro and full-genome characterization. The 44-year-old male healthcare worker who had frequent professional contacts with COVID-19 patients was hospitalized with a viral pneumonia diagnosis and soon started to exhibit fever, dry paroxysmal cough, loss of smell, and typical ground-glass opacities found in both lungs on chest CT scans. The COVID-19 diagnosis was verified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunochromatography, and immunochemiluminescent assays. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, paracetamol, and enoxaparin, leading to his recovery after two weeks from the disease onset. The virus was successfully isolated from the nasopharyngeal swab sample taken on the fifth day of the disease onset using the Vero E6 cell line and exhibited a pronounced cytopathic effect (CPE) with a viral titer reaching 106 TCID50/ml in the cell culture medium. The full genome sequence of the viral isolate was obtained and 8 nucleotide and 5 amino acid mutations compared to the Wuhan-Hu-1 reference genome were identified. Viral isolate belonged to GR / 20B / B.1.1 genetic lineage (GISAID, Nextstrain, Pangolin nomenclatures, respectively) - the most prevalent genotype found in Russia to date.

C1-esterase inhibitor infusion increases survival rates for patients with sepsis*.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic inflammatory response variability displays differing degrees of organ damage and differing outcomes of sepsis. C1-esterase inhibitor, an endogenous acute-phase protein, regulates various inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways, including the kallikrein-kinin system and leukocyte activity. This study assesses the influence of high-dose C1-esterase inhibitor administration on systemic inflammatory response and survival in patients with sepsis. DESIGN: Open-label randomized controlled study. SETTING: Surgical and medical intensive care units of nine university and city hospitals. PATIENTS: : Sixty-one patients with sepsis. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to receive either 12,000 U of C1-esterase inhibitor infusions in addition to conventional treatment or conventional treatment only (n = 41 C1-esterase inhibitor, 20 controls). Blood samples for measurement of C1-esterase inhibitor, complement components C3 and C4, and C-reactive protein concentrations were drawn on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 28. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Quartile analysis of C1-esterase inhibitor activity in sepsis subjects revealed that the lowest quartile subgroup had similar activity levels (0.7-1.2 U/L), when compared to healthy volunteers (p > .05). These normal-level C1-esterase inhibitor sepsis patients nevertheless displayed increased C-reactive protein (p = .04) production and higher likelihoods of a more severe sepsis (p = .001). Overall, infusion of C1-esterase inhibitor increased C1-esterase inhibitor (p < .005 vs. control on days 2, 3, and 5) functional activity, resulted in higher C3 levels (p < .05 vs. control on days 2 and 3), followed by decreased C-reactive protein (p < .05 vs. control on days 3 and 10). Simultaneously, C1-esterase inhibitor infusion in sepsis patients was associated with reduced all-cause mortality (12% vs. 45% in control, p = .008) as well as sepsis-related mortality (8% vs. 45% in control, p = .001) assessed over 28 days. The highest absolute reduction risk of 70% was achieved in sepsis patients with Simplified Acute Physiology Score II scores >27. CONCLUSION: In the present study, patients in the lowest quartile of C1-esterase inhibitor activity in combination with high C-reactive protein demonstrated a higher risk of developing severe sepsis. In general, high-dose C1-esterase inhibitor infusion down-regulated the systemic inflammatory response and was associated with improved survival rates in sepsis patients, which could have important treatment and survival implications for individuals with C1-esterase inhibitor functional deficiency.