Molnar Tihamer, Varnai Reka, Schranz Daniel, Zavori Laszlo, Peterfi Zoltan, Sipos David, Tőkés-Füzesi Margit, Illes Zsolt, Buki Andras, Csecsei Peter
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Pecs, Medical School, H7632 Pecs, Hungary.
Department of Primary Health Care, University of Pecs, Medical School, H7632 Pecs, Hungary.
J Clin Med. 2021 Sep 23;10(19):4337. doi: 10.3390/jcm10194337.
Post-COVID manifestation is defined as persistent symptoms or long-term complications beyond 4 weeks from disease onset. Fatigue and memory impairment are common post-COVID symptoms. We aimed to explore associations between the timeline and severity of post-COVID fatigue and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
Fatigue and memory impairment were assessed in a total of 101 post-COVID subjects using the Chalder fatigue scale (CFQ-11) and a visual analogue scale. Using the bimodal scoring system generated from CFQ-11, a score ≥4 was defined as severe fatigue. Serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (anti-S-Ig) and nucleocapsid (anti-NC-Ig) antibodies were examined at two time points: 4-12 weeks after onset of symptoms, and beyond 12 weeks.
The serum level of anti-S-Ig was significantly higher in patients with non-severe fatigue compared to those with severe fatigue at 4-12 weeks ( = 0.006) and beyond 12 weeks ( = 0.016). The serum level of anti-NC-Ig remained high in patients with non-severe fatigue at both time points. In contrast, anti-NC-Ig decreased significantly in severe fatigue cases regardless of the elapsed time (4-12 weeks: = 0.024; beyond 12 weeks: = 0.005). The incidence of memory impairment was significantly correlated with lower anti-S-Ig levels (-0.359, < 0.001).
The systemic immune response reflected by antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 is strongly correlated with the severity of post-COVID fatigue.
新冠后症状被定义为疾病发作4周后持续存在的症状或长期并发症。疲劳和记忆障碍是常见的新冠后症状。我们旨在探讨新冠后疲劳的时间线和严重程度与抗SARS-CoV-2抗体之间的关联。
使用查尔德疲劳量表（CFQ-11）和视觉模拟量表对总共101名新冠后患者的疲劳和记忆障碍进行评估。使用由CFQ-11生成的双峰评分系统，得分≥4被定义为严重疲劳。在两个时间点检测血清抗SARS-CoV-2刺突（抗S-Ig）和核衣壳（抗NC-Ig）抗体：症状出现后4-12周，以及12周后。
在4-12周（P = 0.006）和12周后（P = 0.016），非严重疲劳患者的抗S-Ig血清水平显著高于严重疲劳患者。在两个时间点，非严重疲劳患者的抗NC-Ig血清水平均保持较高。相比之下，无论时间过去多久（4-12周：P = 0.024；12周后：P = 0.005），严重疲劳病例中的抗NC-Ig均显著下降。记忆障碍的发生率与较低的抗S-Ig水平显著相关（-0.359，P < 0.001）。
SARS-CoV-2抗体反映的全身免疫反应与新冠后疲劳的严重程度密切相关。
