Journal of medical virology
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The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) has led to an outbreak of multiple cases of pneumonia in Wuhan city in December 2019. The disease caused by this virus was named coronavirus disease 2019 or "COVID-19", which was declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic in March 2020. ⋯ Lack of awareness of these presentations might lead to misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and isolation of suspected patients which increases the risk of transmission of infection between patients and doctors. All these issues will be discussed in this review.
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In this study, we performed a single-centered study of 307 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients. It was found that co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus was common during COVID-19 outbreak. And patients coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza B virus have a higher risk of developing poor outcomes so a detection of both viruses was recommended during COVID-19 outbreak.
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Observational Study
Correlation between the variables collected at admission and progression to severe cases during hospitalization among patients with COVID-19 in Chongqing.
Mortality is high among severe patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected disease (COVID-19). Early prediction of progression to severe cases is needed. We retrospectively collected patients with COVID-19 in two hospital of Chongqing from 1st January to 29th February 2020. ⋯ In addition, higher C-reactive protein was associated with shorter time to progress to severe cases (r = -0.62). Several easily obtained variables at admission are associated with progression to severe cases during hospitalization. These variables provide a reference for the medical staffs when they manage the patients with COVID-19.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 using molecular assays is critical for patient management and the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is an increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 viruses with mutations at the primer or probe binding sites, and these mutations may affect the sensitivity of currently available real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays targeting the nucleocapsid (N), envelope (E), and open reading frame 1a or 1b genes. ⋯ Validation with 101 clinical specimens showed that our nsp1 RT-PCR assay has a sensitivity of 93.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 86.2%-97.2%), which was similar to those of N and E gene RT-PCR assays. The diagnostic specificity was 100% (95% CI: 92.9%-100%). The addition of nsp1 for multitarget detection of SARS-CoV-2 can avoid false-negative results due to mutations at the primers/probes binding sites of currently available RT-PCR assays.
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To investigate the inflammatory factors and lymphocyte subsets which play an important role in the course of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A total of 27 patients with severe COVID-19 who were admitted to Tongji Hospital in Wuhan from 1 to 21 February 2020 were recruited to the study. The characteristics of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF)-α, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin and procalcitonin (PCT), and lymphocyte subsets of these patients were retrospectively compared before and after treatment. ⋯ Analysis of lymphocyte subsets showed that CD4+ and particularly CD8+ T lymphocytes increased significantly after treatment. However, B lymphocytes and natural killer cells showed no significant changes after treatment. A pro-inflammatory response and decreased level of T lymphocytes were associated with severe COVID-19.