Cargando…

Practical management of patients with hematological diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests cannot always detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, possibly due to differences in sensitivity between sample types. Under these circumstances, immunochromatography may serve as an alternative method to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies that indicate a history of inf...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hagihara, Masao, Ohara, Shin, Uchida, Tomoyuki, Inoue, Morihiro
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Singapore 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8527309/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34669154
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12185-021-03175-x
Descripción
Sumario:Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests cannot always detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, possibly due to differences in sensitivity between sample types. Under these circumstances, immunochromatography may serve as an alternative method to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies that indicate a history of infection. In our analysis of patients with severe COVID-19 infection, we found that 14 of 19 serum samples were positive for IgG antibodies, whereas 6 of 10 samples from patients with asymptomatic or mild cases were negative. Two patients with immune thrombocytopenia who were treated with prednisolone experienced aggressive COVID-19-related respiratory failure and eventually died. Patients not in remission and those who received steroid-based chemotherapy had a higher risk of death, and patients with lymphoid malignancies including lymphoma and myeloma died in larger numbers than those with myeloid malignancies. A stricter cohorting strategy based on repeat PCR tests or isolation to a private room should be adopted in routine care in hematology departments to prevent viral spread to the environment.