Sartorisu-Sowmya eBook - 20

DECIPHERING THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VIRAL INFECTION

20 | GENengnews.com

U.S. Navy / Chief Mass Communication Specialist Barry Rile

O'Donnell and colleagues reported their findings in a paper
titled, "COVID-19 Coagulopathy in Caucasian Patients."
Severe COVID-19 infection is associated with marked lung
alveolar inflammatory cell infiltrate, together with a systemic
cytokine storm response, the authors wrote. Several studies
have also reported evidence of COVID-19-associated clotting
disorders, and post-mortem studies have indicated pathological
changes to the lung microvasculature, including microthrombi
and hemorrhagic necrosis. "Although the pathophysiology
underlying severe COVID-19 remains poorly understood,
accumulating data suggest that a lung-centric coagulopathy
may plan an important role," the team noted. "Moreover,
emerging data suggest that severe COVID-19 is also associated
with a significant risk for developing deep vein thrombosis and
pulmonary embolism."
Most published data on COVID-19-related coagulopathy
have been derived from studies on Chinese patients, but
race and ethnicity have major effects on thrombotic risk, the
investigators continued. Epidemiological studies have found
that the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is 3-4
fold lower in Chinese patients than it is in Caucasians, and is
significantly higher in African-Americans than it is in Caucasians.
The lower incidence of VTE in Chinese patients means that
thromboprophylaxis is used less in Chinese hospitals. "Given
these data, it is clearly important to determine whether there

Processing blood samples from patients recovering from COVID-19 in a mobile
laboratory at the Javits New York Medical Station.

are differences in coagulopathic features in COVID-10-infected
Caucasian compared to Chinese patients."
The investigators' study included 83 consecutive COVID-19
patients admitted to the hospital between March 13, 2020, and
April 10, 2020. There were 55 male and 28 female patients,
with an age range of 26-92 years. Sixty-seven patients (81%)
were Caucasian, 10 (12%) were Asian, 5 (6%) were African,
and 1 (1%) was of Latino/Hispanic ethnicity. Underlying
comorbidities were identified in 67 (80.7%) patients. All
patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR, and all received
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