This One Thing Could Determine If Your COVID Case Is Severe or Not
By Lauren Gray of Best Life |
This One Thing Could Determine If Your COVID Case Is Severe or Not
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has a reputation for being unpredictable. Patients may begin their infection with a relatively mild set of symptoms, only to find them rapidly escalating into dangerous new territories in the days or weeks that follow. Now, scientists are racing to study innovative ways to identify those patients who might suffer the worst COVID cases
before their symptoms become severe. One such study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that there is indeed a simple way to predict which hospitalized patients are at risk of serious complications or death. Using a rapid blood test that measures mitochondrial DNA, the researchers were able to spot patients who would later face the most serious COVID cases in a group of 100 hospitalized patients. Read
A relatively simple and rapid blood test can predict within a day of a hospital admission which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death.
One of the most vexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is doctors’ inability to predict which newly hospitalized patients will go on to develop severe disease, including complications that require the insertion of a breathing tube, kidney dialysis, or other intensive care.
Knowing a patient’s age and underlying medical conditions can help predict such outcomes, but there are still surprises when younger, seemingly healthier patients suffer severe complications that can lead to death.
US scientists link mitochondrial DNA levels with severity of COVID-19
21 January 2021 | News Mitochondrial DNA levels were much higher in patients who eventually were admitted to the ICU, intubated or died
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Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have shown that a relatively simple and rapid blood test can predict within a day of a hospital admission which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death.
The study, published Jan 14 in JCI Insight, involved nearly 100 patients newly admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.
The blood test measures levels of mitochondrial DNA, a unique type of DNA molecule that normally resides inside the energy factories of cells.
Pictured are damaged mitochondria (dark grey areas) released from human lungs. The small dark dots surrounding the mitochondria are magnetic beads that carry antibodies used to isolate and study unhealthy mitochondria that have been released from dying tissues. Credit: Wandy Beatty Read Time:
One of the most vexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is doctors inability to predict which newly hospitalized patients will go on to develop severe disease, including complications that require the insertion of a breathing tube, kidney dialysis or other intensive care. Knowledge of a patient s age and underlying medical conditions can help predict such outcomes, but there are still surprises when younger, seemingly healthier patients suffer severe complications that can lead to death.
Measuring mitochondrial DNA could predict who will need ICU care, intubation
January 15, 2021 SHARE A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that measuring mitochondrial DNA in the blood of patients with COVID-19 can help predict which patients are at highest risk of severe disease, requiring more intensive care. Mitochondrial DNA levels are a measure of tissue damage. Pictured are damaged mitochondria (dark grey areas) released from human lungs. The small dark dots surrounding the mitochondria are magnetic beads that carry antibodies used to isolate and study unhealthy mitochondria that have been released from dying tissues. (Image: Wandy Beatty)