Distinct Metabolic Profile Associated with a Fatal Outcome in COVID-19 Patients during the Early Epidemic in Italy.
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Saccon E, Bandera A, Sciumè M, Mikaeloff F, Lashari AA, Aliberti S, Sachs MC, Billi F, Blasi F, Gabriel EE, Costantino G, De Roberto P, Krishnan S, Gori A, Peyvandi F, Scudeller L, Canetta C, Lorson CL, Valenti L, Singh K, Baldini L, Fracchiolla NS, COVID-19 Network Working Group, , Neogi U
Microbiol Spectr - (-) e0054921 [2021-09-01; online 2021-09-01]
In one year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many studies have described the different metabolic changes occurring in COVID-19 patients, linking these alterations to the disease severity. However, a complete metabolic signature of the most severe cases, especially those with a fatal outcome, is still missing. Our study retrospectively analyzes the metabolome profiles of 75 COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms admitted to Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (Lombardy Region, Italy) following SARS-CoV-2 infection between March and April 2020. Italy was the first Western country to experience COVID-19, and the Lombardy Region was the epicenter of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic. This cohort shows a higher mortality rate compared to others; therefore, it represents a unique opportunity to investigate the underlying metabolic profiles of the first COVID-19 patients in Italy and to identify the potential biomarkers related to the disease prognosis and fatal outcome. IMPORTANCE Understanding the metabolic alterations occurring during an infection is a key element for identifying potential indicators of the disease prognosis, which are fundamental for developing efficient diagnostic tools and offering the best therapeutic treatment to the patient. Here, exploiting high-throughput metabolomics data, we identified the first metabolic profile associated with a fatal outcome, not correlated with preexisting clinical conditions or the oxygen demand at the moment of diagnosis. Overall, our results contribute to a better understanding of COVID-19-related metabolic disruption and may represent a useful starting point for the identification of independent prognostic factors to be employed in therapeutic practice.
PubMed 34468185
DOI 10.1128/Spectrum.00549-21
Crossref 10.1128/Spectrum.00549-21