Comparison of Antiphospholipid Antibody Levels in Children with and Without COVID-19

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the recent pandemic. According to published reports, respiratory symptoms, such as pneumonia and inflammatory conditions, are common in this disease. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the level of antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies in children with and without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study was conducted on patients under 16 years of age with and without COVID-19 admitted to Ali Asghar Hospital between December 2021 and February 2022. Patient information was collected by the researcher in a checklist. The checklist included demographic information, clinical findings, and information on laboratory and ultrasound results. Results: In this study, 99 patients were evaluated in three groups: control (without COVID-19), moderate, and severe. The means (standard deviation [SD]) of C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer were significantly higher in the severe group. The Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to examine the relationship between aPL and anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies with laboratory results. The only significant and direct relationship was observed between aCL antibody and D-dimer. Conclusions: Increased CRP and D-dimer in children with COVID-19 are associated with the severe form of this serious disease. However, there was no significant association between the severity of the disease and the levels of aCL and aPL antibodies and anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies (aβ2GPI) in children.