Rapid blood test predicts COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease: Study

A rapid blood test may be able to identify patients with COVID-19 who are at a higher risk of the severe form of the disease.

By: Arushi Bidhuri | | Published: January 16, 2021 7:03 pm

Rapid blood test predicts COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease: Study

Th novel coronavirus has millions of lives across the world, and it can affect anyone. But some people are more susceptible to get infected by the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Elderly people and those with co-morbidities are a greater risk of severe complications or death. But the study published in the JCI Insight journal indicates that a relatively simple and rapid blood test could predict which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death. Also Read - COVID-19 vaccine at ₹250 too low to sustain, Companies ‘feel betrayed’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

This Rapid Blood Test Predicts The Severity Of The COVID-19 Patient Within A Day

Researchers, including one of Indian origin, found that the rapid blood test provides results within a day of hospital admission. The blood test measures levels of mitochondrial DNA – a unique type of DNA molecule that normally resides inside the energy factories of cells. Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome found inside mitochondria, also known as the powerhouse of the cell. Also Read - Gurugram apartment declared containment zone after 20 tested positive for COVID-19

According to the study, mitochondrial DNA spilling out of cells and into the bloodstream is a sign that a type of violent cell death is taking place in the body. Also Read - With 33 positive cases, 3 more COVID-19 clusters identified in Bengaluru

Predicting Disease Severity May Help Design Better Clinical Trials

Yet another discovery in the fight against coronavirus, this tool may help healthcare professionals provide better service to those at higher risk of dying from the disease. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease-2019 led to some serious challenges for healthcare professionals. COVID-19 patients may cause severe symptoms and may lead to organ failure in severe cases.

Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, Assistant Professor at the Washington University in the US, said, “We will need larger trials to verify what we found in this study, but if we could determine in the first 24 hours of admission whether a patient is likely to need dialysis/incubation or medication to keep their blood pressure from dropping too low. This would change how we triage the patients and how we manage them earlier in the course of the disease.”

The test could serve as a way to predict disease severity as well as a tool to better design clinical trials, identifying patients who might benefit from specific investigational treatment.

High Mitochondrial DNA Levels Indicate Higher Risk Of Dying

For the study, the team evaluated the results of 97 patients with COVID-19. They measured the mitochondrial DNA levels on the first day of their hospital stay. They found that mitochondrial DNA levels were much higher in patients who eventually were admitted to the ICU, incubated or died. The researchers found that this association held independently of a patient’s age, sex and underlying health conditions.

On an average, mitochondrial DNA levels were nearly tenfold higher in patients with COVID-19 who developed severe lung dysfunction or eventually died. Those with elevated levels were nearly six times more likely to be incubated, 3 times more likely to be admitted to the ICU and nearly twice as likely to die compared with those with lower levels.

Published : January 16, 2021 7:03 pm

Read Disclaimer