Gdoura Mariem, Touati Raoua, Kalthoum Sana, Ben Slama Rania, Fatnassi Nouel, Mrad Mehdi, Ammari Lamia, Brahmi Nozha, Ben Jazia Amira, Hogga Nahed, Triki Henda, Haddad-Boubaker Sondes
Laboratory of Clinical Virology, WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Measles for the EMR, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
LR20IPT10 Laboratory of Virus, Host and Vectors, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Jul 8;9:909660. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.909660. eCollection 2022.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for COVID-19 disease which is known to have a broad clinical spectrum, from asymptomatic to critical presentation leading to death. Many researchers have investigated the factors impacting the course of the disease. Our previous study suggested a possible protective effect of Hepatitis B, Tetanus and Measles vaccines against COVID-19. In continuity, we conducted a cross-sectional clinical study in order to confirm our assumptions regarding the HBs-Ag antibodies.
A representative sex- and age-matched sample of patients with confirmed COVID-19 was selected ( = 340). All clinical presentations were equally represented. Using an ELISA test, each patient benefited of a serology for the detection and measurement of the anti-HBs specific IgG antibodies. The obtained results allowed determining the different correlations between these antibody titers and the disease severity. The R software and the MedCalc software served to calculate the Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation (rho) for the obtained titers per severity group as well as the different other calculations and figure representations.
A significant positive correlation was found with the anti-HBs titers (rho = 0.107; = 0.04). High anti-HBs titers were significantly associated with the mild presentation of COVID-19. A significant difference was found between the obtained titers per severity class (chi-2 test, = 0.03).
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that anti-HBs titers were significantly higher for patients having mild COVID-19 presentations. We presume that being immunized against the HB may play a protective role in the course of the disease. Our study provided more key elements in understanding the disparity of the clinical spectrum among regions.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引发了COVID-19疾病，该疾病具有广泛的临床谱，从无症状到导致死亡的危重症表现。许多研究人员调查了影响疾病进程的因素。我们之前的研究表明乙肝、破伤风和麻疹疫苗对COVID-19可能具有保护作用。在此基础上，我们进行了一项横断面临床研究，以证实我们关于乙肝表面抗原（HBs-Ag）抗体的假设。
选取了一个具有代表性的、性别和年龄匹配的确诊COVID-19患者样本（n = 340）。所有临床表现均有同等比例的代表。使用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）试验，对每位患者进行血清学检测，以检测和测量抗-HBs特异性IgG抗体。所得结果有助于确定这些抗体滴度与疾病严重程度之间的不同相关性。使用R软件和MedCalc软件计算每个严重程度组所得滴度的Spearman等级相关系数（rho）以及其他不同的计算和图形表示。
发现抗-HBs滴度存在显著正相关（rho = 0.107；p = 0.04）。高抗-HBs滴度与COVID-19的轻症表现显著相关。每个严重程度等级所得滴度之间存在显著差异（卡方检验，p = 0.03）。
讨论/结论：我们的研究结果表明，轻症COVID-19患者的抗-HBs滴度显著更高。我们推测接种乙肝疫苗可能在疾病进程中发挥保护作用。我们的研究为理解不同地区临床谱的差异提供了更多关键因素。
