Clinical and biochemical characteristics of people experiencing post-coronavirus disease 2019-related symptoms: A prospective follow-up investigation

Abstract

BackgroundPost-acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome, also known as long COVID, is a prolonged illness after the acute phase of COVID-19. Hospitalized patients were known to have persisting symptoms of fatigue, headache, dyspnea, and anosmia. There is a need to describe the characteristics of individuals with post-COVID-19 symptoms in comparison to the baseline characteristics.PurposeTo investigate the clinical and biochemical characteristics of people who recovered from COVID-19 after 6 months of discharge from the hospital.MethodsThis was a prospective follow-up investigation of hospitalized and discharged COVID-19 patients. Adult patients admitted to King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and discharged were recruited. The baseline demographic information, comorbidities, vital signs and symptoms, laboratory parameters, COVID-19 therapy, and outcomes were collected from the medical records. Blood samples were collected for cytokines estimation. A detailed interview about signs and symptoms was undertaken during the follow-up.ResultsHalf of the followed-up people reported experiencing at least one of the COVID-19-related symptoms. The mean blood pressure was found higher in follow-up. People with the symptoms were characterized by low lymphocyte count, lower serum calcium levels, and hyperglycemia compared to people without any post-COVID-19 symptoms. Cytokines IL-8, VEGF, and MCP-1 were higher in people with the most frequent symptoms.ConclusionPeople with post-COVID-19 symptoms were characterized by lower lymphocyte count, lower serum calcium levels, and hyperglycemia compared to people without symptoms. Individuals with the most frequent post-COVID-19 symptoms had higher baseline pro-inflammatory, chemotactic, and angiogenic cytokines.

Long-COVID is Associated with Impaired Red Blood Cell Function

“…Since MCH and MCHC were also elevated in Long-COVID patients, we suggest a potential compensa-tory mechanism. Elevation of these hematological parameters were also reported by other researchers focusing on this subject [25].…”

Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Leads to Inflammatory Activation through NF-κB Non-Canonical Pathway and Mitochondrial Remodeling

“…Such observations further suggest the involvement of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in COVID-19 [ 90 ]. MCP-1, a pro-inflammatory chemokine well-known to be increased in COVID-19 patients [ 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ], was also found to be increased in SARS-CoV-2-exposed HBMEC conditioned media, as detected by mini-proteome assays. Accordingly, recent findings from our group show that both delta and D614G Spike1 proteins are capable of inducing MCP-1 release from HBMECs (Stangis and Toborek et al, unpublished data).…”

Immune activation and immune-associated neurotoxicity in Long-COVID: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 82 studies comprising 58 cytokines/chemokines/growth factors

“…Furthermore, an additional 5 articles were excluded because of the lack of clear, extractable data. Consequently, a total of 82 studies were ultimately selected for the meta-analysis, adhering to our established inclusion and exclusion guidelines (Townsend, Dyer et al 2020, Ahearn-Ford, Lunjani et al 2021, Aparisi, Ybarra-Falcón et al 2021, Colarusso, Maglio et al 2021, Gameil, Marzouk et al 2021, Loretelli, Abdelsalam et al 2021, Montefusco, Ben Nasr et al 2021, Ong, Fong et al 2021, Patterson, Guevara-Coto et al 2021, Peluso, Lu et al 2021, Soni, Soni et al 2021, Sun, Tang et al 2021, Taha, Samaan et al 2021, Utrero-Rico, González-Cuadrado et al 2021, Wallis, Heiden et al 2021, Wu, Deng et al 2021, Acosta-Ampudia, Monsalve et al 2022, Alfadda, Rafiullah et al 2022, Aparisi, Ybarra-Falcón et al 2022, Arslan, Aksakal et al 2022, Cervia, Zurbuchen et al 2022, Corrêa, Deus et al 2022, Díaz-Salazar, Navas et al 2022, Dugani, Mehta et al 2022, Durstenfeld, Peluso et al 2022, Elizabeth, Thomas et al 2022, Fan, Wong et al 2022, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, Ryan-Murua et al 2022, Ferrando, Dornbush et al 2022, Flaskamp, Roubal et al 2022, Fogarty, Ward et al 2022, García-Abellán, Fernández et al 2022, Johannes, Andrea et al 2022, Kruger, Vlok et al 2022, Littlefield, Watson et al 2022, Magdy, Eid et al 2022, Martone, Tosato et al 2022, Meisinger, Goßlau et al 2022, Meltendorf, Vogel et al 2022, Nádasdi, Sinkovits et al 2022, Patel, Knauer et al 2022, Patra and Ray 2022, Peluso, Sans et al 2022, Petrella, Nenna et al 2022, Phetsouphanh, Darley et al 2022, Queiroz, Neves et al 2022, Saxena, Saxena et al 2022, Schultheiß, Willscher et al 2022, Sibila, Perea et al 2022, Simone, Caitlin et al 2022, Stavileci, Özdemir et al 2022, Taeschler, Adamo et al 2022, Wechsler, Butuci et al 2022, Wiech, Chroscicki et al 2022, Zhao, Schank et al 2022, Al-Hakeim, Abed et al 2023, Al-Hakeim, Al-Rubaye et al 2023, Al-Hakeim, Al-Rubaye et...…”