J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2021 Jan 25;35(1). doi: 10.23812/20-605-A. [Epub ahead of print]
OPEN ACCESS
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Clinical and diagnostic findings in COVID-19 patients: an original research from SG Moscati Hospital in Taranto Italy
Author information
- 1 SET-118, Department of Pre-hospital and Emergency, SG Giuseppe Moscati Hospital, Taranto, Italy.
- 2 Department of Multidisciplinary Research Centre, Lincoln University, Oakland CA, USA.
- 3 Department of Pneumology, SG Giuseppe Moscati Hospital, Taranto, Italy.
- 4 Department of Clinical Pathology, SS. Annunziata and SG Giuseppe Moscati Hospital, Taranto, Italy.
- 5 Department of Hematology, SS. Annunziata, Taranto, Italy.
- 6 Department of Diagnostic Imaging, SG Giuseppe Moscati Hospital, Taranto, Italy.
- 7 Department of Nephrology, SS. Annunziata, Taranto, Italy.
- 8 American Stem Cells Hospital Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
- 9 Phan Chau Trinh University of Medicine and Nam-Khoa Biotek, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
- 10 “Aldo Moro”, University of Bari, School of Medicine D.I.M. (Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine), Bari, Italy.
- 11 Foundation of Physics Research Center, Celico, Italy.
- # Contributed equally
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a worldwide medical challenge due to the scarcity of proper information and remedial resources. The ability to efficiently avoid a further SARS-CoV-2 pandemic will, therefore, depend on understanding several factors which include host immunity, virus behavior, prevention measures, and new therapies. This is a multi-phase observatory study conducted in the SG Moscati Hospital of Taranto in Italy that was converted into COVID-19 Special Care Unit for SARS-Co-V2 risk management. Patients were admitted to the 118 Emergency Pre-Hospital and Emergency Department based on two diagnostic criteria, the nasopharyngeal swab assessed by reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) and CT-scan image characterized by ground glass opacity. Patients were divided into four groups, positive-positive (ER-PP), negative-positive (ER-NP), negative-negative (ER-NN) and a group admitted to the ICU (ER-IC). A further control group was added when the T and B lymphocyte subsets were analyzed. Data included gender, age, vital signs, arterial blood gas analysis (ABG), extensive laboratory results with microbiology and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) which were analyzed and compared. Fundamental differences were reported among the groups. Males were significantly higher in PP, ICU, and NP groups, from 2 to 4-fold higher than females, while in the NN group, the number of females was mildly higher than males; the PP patients showed a marked alkalotic, hypoxic, hypocapnia ABG profile with hyperventilation at the time of admission; finally, the laboratory and microbiology results showed lymphopenia, fibrinogen, ESR, CRP, and eGFR were markedly anomalous. The total number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was dramatically reduced in COVID-19 patients with levels lower than the normal range delimited by 400/μL and 800/μL, respectively, and were negatively correlated with blood inflammatory responses.
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KEYWORDS:
118 Pre-Hospital Medical System-Emergency Department, COVID-19; SG Moscati Hospital, Sars-CoV-2, arterial blood gas (ABG), bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)
Publication type
- Journal Article