Homocysteine as a predictor of clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized for Covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is still a global health, social and economic problem. Treating this systemic infection remains a challenge. Numerous biomarkers have been studied so far as potential prognostic parameters, hematological and inflammation parameters most of all. Aim: Our main goal is to examine the association of homocysteine level with the clinical outcome, as well as whether homocysteine level changes through the course of the disease. Materials and methods: In our research, blood samples were collected from 131 patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive and were treated at the University Clinical Center of Kragujevac. The inclusion criteria were as follows: men and women above 18 years of age, a signed informed consent for participation in the study, patients SARS-CoV-2 positive for the first time (which was confirmed by a rapid antigen test or a PCR test), treated in hospital and belonging to any of the three COVID-19 severity categories. Blood samples were taken on the first, fifth and tenth day of the hospitalization period and the course of the disease was monitored. Statistical data processing was done using the IBM SPSS Statistics v.21 program. Results: Based on our research, we concluded that homocysteine level changed during the hospitalization period and that it had a growing trend. There was a statistical significance between the levels measured on the first, fifth and tenth day. We showed that the patients suffering from hypertension (HTN) had higher levels of the examined parameter compared to the patients who were not hypertensive. It was also observed that homocysteine levels increased with age. There was a statistical significance between homocysteine levels and the outcome of the disease. Conclusion: Based on our study, we can say that patients with high homocysteine levels (on the fifth day of the hospitalization period) have a worse clinical outcome than patients with lower homocysteine levels. Patients with lower homocysteine levels have a better chance of recovery.