Many countries have seen a two-wave pattern in reported cases of coronavirus disease-19 during the 2020 pandemic, with a first wave during spring followed by the current second wave in late summer and autumn. Empirical data show that the characteristics of the effects of the virus do vary between the two periods. Differences in age range and severity of the disease have been reported, although the comparative characteristics of the two waves still remain largely unknown. Those characteristics are compared in this study using data from two equal periods of 3 and a half months. The first period, between 15th March and 30th June, corresponding to the entire first wave, and the second, between 1st July and 15th October, corresponding to part of the second wave, still present at the time of writing this article. Two hundred and four patients were hospitalized during the first period, and 264 during the second period. Patients in the second wave were younger and the duration of hospitalization and case fatality rate were lower than those in the first wave. In the second wave, there were more children, and pregnant and post-partum women. The most frequent signs and symptoms in both waves were fever, dyspnea, pneumonia, and cough, and the most relevant comorbidities were cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic neurological diseases. Patients from the second wave more frequently presented renal and gastrointestinal symptoms, were more often treated with non-invasive mechanical ventilation and corticoids, and less often with invasive mechanical ventilation, conventional oxygen therapy and anticoagulants. Several differences in mortality risk factors were also observed. These results might help to understand the characteristics of the second wave and the behaviour and danger of SARS-CoV-2 in the Mediterranean area and in Western Europe. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Lipids are indispensable in the SARS-CoV-2 infection process. The clinical significance of plasma lipid profile during COVID-19 has not been rigorously evaluated. We aim to ascertain the association of the plasma lipid profile with SARS-CoV-2 infection clinical evolution. Observational cross-sectional study including 1411 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and an available standard lipid profile prior (n: 1305) or during hospitalization (n: 297). The usefulness of serum total, LDL, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol to predict the COVID-19 prognosis (severe vs mild) was analysed. Patients with severe COVID-19 evolution had lower HDL cholesterol and higher triglyceride levels before the infection. The lipid profile measured during hospitalization also showed that a severe outcome was associated with lower HDL cholesterol levels and higher triglycerides. HDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were correlated with ferritin and D-dimer levels but not with CRP levels. The presence of atherogenic dyslipidaemia during the infection was strongly and independently associated with a worse COVID-19 infection prognosis. The low HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride concentrations measured before or during hospitalization are strong predictors of a severe course of the disease. The lipid profile should be considered as a sensitive marker of inflammation and should be measured in patients with COVID-19.

The causal role of cholesterol in atherosclerosis was established more than 100 years ago. Along with the fact that the higher the cholesterol, the greater the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD), many randomized controlled trials (RCT) have shown that lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) is associated with a lower incidence of ASCVD. This impact of lipid-lowering therapies on cardiovascular risk is independent of the drug used, as shown by several meta-analyses and Mendelian randomization studies. Therefore, the concept of using “high-intensity statins” should be changed to “high-intensity lipid-lowering therapies” that go beyond the use of statins. Recent RCTs using non-statin lipid-lowering therapies has provided scientific evidence that the lower the LDL-C, the better in terms of cardiovascular events. Based on these observations, current guidelines recommend achieving very low LDL-C levels in patients with high and very-high cardiovascular risk. To achieve these demanding goals, the physician must use the full spectrum of lipid-lowering therapies, beyond high-intensity, high-dose statins. Oral combination therapies and, when necessary, subcutaneous treatments become the new standard of care for hypercholesterolemia. However, the number of patients achieving LDL-C goals is unacceptably low. This is due in part to insufficient prescription and insufficient treatment. To improve the efficacy of therapy, several strategies have been proposed, step by step, planning therapy and maximizing treatment, based on the needs of the patient. A wider use of lipid-lowering