Researchers from the Institute for Systems Biology, a biomedical research organization based in Seattle (USA) have identified 4 risk factors that would identify which patients are likely to suffer from long-term covid.
For their study, which has just been published in the medical journal Cell, the scientists followed 309 patients with covid-19, from initial diagnosis until their recovery, 2 to 3 months later. In this follow-up, they integrated the clinical data collected during their hospitalization and the symptoms reported by these patients.
Using a simple blood test, they identified four risk factors for covid-long which can be assessed from the initial diagnosis, and alert caregivers to the fragility of certain patients:
- Pre-existing type 2 diabetes
- The level of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the blood
- The level of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in the blood
- The presence of specific autoantibodies.
“These symptom-associated immunological signatures reveal which patients have acute disease severity and are most at risk of developing chronic disease,” said Professor Jim Heath, president of the Institute for Systems Biology and lead author of the study. .
However, the latter considers that additional studies are necessary, in particular to establish causal links but also to follow patients for longer than 3 months.
Source : Multiple Early Factors Anticipate Post-Acute COVID-19 Sequelae, Cell, January 2022
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