Epstude Jörg, Skiba Marcin, Harsch Igor Alexander
Department of Hospital Hygiene, Thuringia Clinic "Georgius Agricola", Saalfeld/Saale, Germany.
Department of Internal Medicine II, Thuringia Clinic "Georgius Agricola", Saalfeld/Saale, Germany.
GMS Hyg Infect Control. 2021 Mar 15;16:Doc11. doi: 10.3205/dgkh000382. eCollection 2021.
The majority of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are older individuals. Age and the comorbidities typically associated with it usually go hand in hand with a less favorable course of the disease. We were interested in the antibody response in this particular patient group as well as in the results of rapid antigen testing. In 30 elderly patients (>75 years), antibody titers (IgA and IgG) against COVID-19 were measured, and rapid antigen testing was determined about 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The results were compared with those of a "high-risk" group consisting of "Covid-19" ward regular staff, as well as with "low-risk" staff consisting of members of the intensive care unit (ICU). The antibody titer against SARS-CoV-2 was determined by ELISA (EUROIMMUN™, PerkinElmer, Inc. Company); for rapid antigen testing, we used the SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen test (Roche). Our investigations demonstrate a robust antibody response in the majority of elderly, comorbid patients about three weeks after the onset of infection. At this timepoint, most of the results of rapid antigen testing were negative. Furthermore, in the group of employees of our clinic ("Covid-19" ward vs. the ICU staff), the prevalence of antibodies was very low and antigen testing was negative in the whole ICU group. Although frequently comorbid, elderly patients are capable of significantly increasing antibodies against COVID-19 about 3 weeks after the onset of infection. Since the viral load can be assumed to have been low at that point, rapid antigen testing was negative in most cases. In the test group of employees of our clinic ("Covid-19" ward vs. the ICU staff), the data demonstrate that - given adequate protective measures - the risk of infection is not higher in a "Covid-19" ward compared to other wards.
大多数因新冠肺炎住院的患者是老年人。年龄以及通常与之相关的合并症往往与疾病的预后较差相伴。我们对这一特定患者群体的抗体反应以及快速抗原检测结果感兴趣。在30名老年患者（>75岁）中，测量了针对新冠肺炎的抗体滴度（IgA和IgG），并在SARS-CoV-2感染症状出现约3周后进行了快速抗原检测。将结果与由“新冠肺炎”病房的固定工作人员组成的“高风险”组以及由重症监护病房（ICU）成员组成的“低风险”工作人员的结果进行了比较。通过ELISA（EUROIMMUN™，珀金埃尔默公司）测定针对SARS-CoV-2的抗体滴度；对于快速抗原检测，我们使用了SARS-CoV-2快速抗原检测（罗氏公司）。我们的研究表明，大多数老年合并症患者在感染开始约三周后有强烈的抗体反应。在这个时间点，大多数快速抗原检测结果为阴性。此外，在我们诊所的员工组（“新冠肺炎”病房与ICU工作人员）中，抗体的流行率非常低，并且整个ICU组的抗原检测均为阴性。尽管老年患者经常合并其他疾病，但他们在感染开始约3周后能够显著增加针对新冠肺炎的抗体。由于当时可以认为病毒载量较低，大多数情况下快速抗原检测为阴性。在我们诊所员工的测试组（“新冠肺炎”病房与ICU工作人员）中，数据表明——在采取适当的防护措施的情况下——“新冠肺炎”病房的感染风险并不高于其他病房。
