Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq.
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Chemistry, University of Al-Ameed, Karbala, Iraq.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 28;19(8):e0309348. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309348. eCollection 2024.
The complex effects of Long-COVID, a syndrome marked by enduring symptoms after COVID-19 infection, with an emphasis on patients' differing degrees of fibro fatigue (FF). Electrolyte disturbances may affect the severity of FF and may be used as a predictive tool for severe FF in Long-COVID patients.
The aim is to use the electrolyte levels for prediction of the Long-COVID patients with high FF levels.
The electrolyte levels, calcium, and magnesium, as well as albumin and C-reactive protein levels were measured in 120 Long-COVID patients and 60 controls. FF scale was used for scoring the fatigue severity in all subjects. Patients were divided into high-FF (FF score>25) and moderate-FF group (FF score<25).
FF is the major effector on the serum biomarker levels. High-FF group had older people, longer disease durations, lower SpO2, higher CRP, and higher peak temperatures than the control group. High-FF group has a significant decrease in serum total and ionized calcium compared with the controls and low-FF group. After controlling the cofounders, the major factor controlling the levels of the measured biomarkers is the FF value (Partial η2 = 0.468). The ROC-AUC analysis showed that the peak body temperature, Low-SpO2, high-CRP, and low electrolytes can predict the high-FF in a patient with Long-COVID with a moderate sensitivity and specificities (61.6-70%).
Long-COVID patients have an elevation in FF score. The decline in electrolytes can predict the severity of FF with moderate sensitivities and specificities.
长新冠是一种在感染新冠病毒后出现持续症状的综合征，其特点是患者不同程度的纤维疲劳（FF）。电解质紊乱可能会影响 FF 的严重程度，并可作为预测长新冠患者严重 FF 的工具。
旨在利用电解质水平预测长新冠患者中 FF 水平较高的患者。
在 120 名长新冠患者和 60 名对照者中测量了电解质水平、钙和镁以及白蛋白和 C 反应蛋白水平。所有受试者均采用 FF 量表评估疲劳严重程度。患者分为高 FF（FF 评分>25）和中 FF 组（FF 评分<25）。
FF 是影响血清生物标志物水平的主要因素。高 FF 组患者年龄较大、疾病持续时间较长、SpO2 较低、CRP 较高、峰值体温较高，与对照组相比差异有统计学意义。与对照组和低 FF 组相比，高 FF 组血清总钙和离子钙显著降低。在控制混杂因素后，控制所测量生物标志物水平的主要因素是 FF 值（部分 η2=0.468）。ROC-AUC 分析显示，峰值体温、低 SpO2、高 CRP 和低电解质可预测长新冠患者的高 FF，具有中等敏感性和特异性（61.6-70%）。
长新冠患者的 FF 评分升高。电解质下降可预测 FF 的严重程度，具有中等的敏感性和特异性。
