Bagiu Iulia Cristina, Scurtu Ileana Luminita, Horhat Delia Ioana, Mot Ion Cristian, Horhat Razvan Mihai, Bagiu Radu Vasile, Capraru Ionut Dragos, Diaconu Mircea Mihai, Adam Ovidiu, Ciornei Bogdan, Vulcanescu Dan Dumitru, Juganaru Iulius, Bondar Andrei-Cristian, Horhat Florin George
Emergency Hospital for Children "Louis Turcanu", 300011 Timisoara, Romania.
Department of Microbiology, Multidisciplinary Research Center on Antimicrobial Resistance, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Sq. No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Life (Basel). 2022 Dec 28;13(1):91. doi: 10.3390/life13010091.
Biomarkers play an important role in COVID-19, and more research in this regard is needed, especially in the case of children. This study aimed to look for a link between the C reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), vitamin D and COVID-19 in pediatric patients.
This is a retrospective cohort study, performed on children diagnosed positively with COVID-19 at a children's hospital in western Romania. Available CRP, LDH, CK vitamin D and clinical severity were recorded. For each biomarker, groups were formed by patients' age. Mean/median group differences were assessed using Student's test or Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's post hoc tests. Association was assessed using the chi test, while correlation was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation.
181 positive children were studied between 1 August 2021 and 1 February 2022. Average age was 8.76 years (SD = 3.93). There were 94 (51.93%) males and 87 (48.07%) females. The cases were: 62 asymptomatic (34.25%), 107 mild (59.12%), 9 moderate (4.97%), 3 severe (1.66%). Regarding CRP, a significant difference between older and younger patients was observed ( = 0.0034). Clinical severity was associated with CRP ( = 0.0281), LDH ( = 0.0410) and vitamin D ( = 0.0444). Regarding CK, no differences or associations proved significant. Correlation testing was conducted for CRP, LDH, vitamin D and clinical signs. With the exception of LDH-CRP and LDH-vitamin D, all relationships proved statistically significant.
CRP, LDH and vitamin D levels are important biomarkers for COVID-19-positive pediatric patients, while CK was mostly within normal ranges.
生物标志物在新冠病毒疾病（COVID-19）中发挥着重要作用，在这方面需要更多研究，尤其是针对儿童的研究。本研究旨在探寻儿科患者中C反应蛋白（CRP）、乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）、肌酸激酶（CK）、维生素D与COVID-19之间的联系。
这是一项回顾性队列研究，研究对象为罗马尼亚西部一家儿童医院确诊为COVID-19阳性的儿童。记录可用的CRP、LDH、CK、维生素D及临床严重程度。针对每种生物标志物，按患者年龄分组。使用学生t检验或曼-惠特尼检验以及带有邓恩事后检验的克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验评估组间均值/中位数差异。使用卡方检验评估关联性，使用斯皮尔曼等级相关性评估相关性。
在2021年8月1日至2022年2月1日期间研究了181名阳性儿童。平均年龄为8.76岁（标准差=3.93）。男性94名（51.93%），女性87名（48.07%）。病例情况为：62例无症状（34.25%），107例轻症（59.12%），9例中症（4.97%），3例重症（1.66%）。关于CRP，观察到年长与年幼患者之间存在显著差异（P=0.0034）。临床严重程度与CRP（P=0.0281）、LDH（P=0.0410）和维生素D（P=0.0444）相关。关于CK，未证明存在显著差异或关联性。对CRP、LDH、维生素D与临床体征进行了相关性检验。除LDH-CRP和LDH-维生素D外，所有关系均证明具有统计学意义。
CRP、LDH和维生素D水平是COVID-19阳性儿科患者的重要生物标志物，而CK大多在正常范围内。
