Eguchi Tomohiro, Niiyama Shuhei, Kamikokuryo Chinatsu, Madokoro Yutaro, Shimono Kenshin, Hara Satoshi, Ichinose Hiroshi, Kakihana Yasuyuki
Department of Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan.
Emergency and Critical Care Center, Kagoshima City Hospital, Kagoshima 890-8760, Japan.
J Clin Med. 2024 Jul 26;13(15):4365. doi: 10.3390/jcm13154365.
: As COVID-19 can be severe, early predictive markers of both severity and onset of secondary bacterial infections are needed. This study first examined changes over time in the levels of plasma neopterin (NP) and biopterins (BPs), among others, in patients with COVID-19 and then in those with secondary bacterial infection complications. : Fifty-two patients with COVID-19 admitted to two tertiary care centers were included. They were divided into a severe group (intubated + mechanical ventilation) ( = 10) and a moderate group (non-intubated + oxygen administration) ( = 42), and changes over time in plasma NP, plasma BPs, IFN-γ, lymphocyte count, CRP, and IL-6 were investigated. Four of the patients in the severe group ( = 10) developed secondary bacterial infections during treatment. Plasma NP and plasma BPs of patients with bacterial sepsis (no viral infection) ( = 25) were also examined. : The plasma NP, IL-6, CRP, and SOFA levels were significantly higher in the severe group, while the IFN-γ level and lymphocyte count were significantly lower. The higher plasma NP in the severe group persisted only up to 1 week after symptom onset. The plasma BPs were higher in complications of bacterial infection. : The timing of sample collection is important for assessing severity through plasma NP, while plasma BPs may be a useful diagnostic tool for identifying the development of secondary bacterial infection in patients with COVID-19. Further investigation is needed to clarify the mechanism by which NP and BPs, which are involved in the same biosynthetic pathway, are differentially activated depending on the type of pathogen.
由于新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)可能病情严重,因此需要严重程度和继发性细菌感染发作的早期预测指标。本研究首先检测了COVID-19患者以及继发细菌感染并发症患者血浆新蝶呤(NP)和生物蝶呤(BPs)等水平随时间的变化。纳入了两家三级医疗中心收治的52例COVID-19患者。将他们分为重症组(插管 + 机械通气)(n = 10)和中度组(非插管 + 吸氧)(n = 42),并研究血浆NP、血浆BPs、干扰素-γ(IFN-γ)、淋巴细胞计数、C反应蛋白(CRP)和白细胞介素-6(IL-6)随时间的变化。重症组中的4例患者(n = 10)在治疗期间发生了继发性细菌感染。还检测了细菌性败血症(无病毒感染)患者(n = 25)的血浆NP和血浆BPs。重症组的血浆NP、IL-6、CRP和序贯器官衰竭评估(SOFA)水平显著更高,而IFN-γ水平和淋巴细胞计数显著更低。重症组较高的血浆NP仅在症状出现后1周内持续存在。细菌性感染并发症患者的血浆BPs更高。通过血浆NP评估严重程度时,样本采集时间很重要,而血浆BPs可能是识别COVID-19患者继发性细菌感染发生的有用诊断工具。需要进一步研究以阐明参与同一生物合成途径的NP和BPs根据病原体类型而被差异激活的机制。