Immune Profiles From Blood Tests May Guide COVID-19 Triage

Researchers say a patient's routinely assessed immune profile on the first day of hospitalization might provide insights for treating serious cases of COVID-19. A study by Mayo Clinic and collaborators published in Frontiers of Immunology found a consensus in two geographically separate groups of patients showing two different immune profiles based on COVID-19 survivability.

This was a triple-blinded study. None of the physicians involved had access to the data or the other participants until the final analysis was complete. One cohort was hospitalized in the U.S., and the other was hospitalized in India. Still, the findings corroborated each other.

"The time available to respond effectively is a critical variable of every emergency," says Prakasha Kempaiah, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic infectious disease researcher and the corresponding author of the study.

The researchers suggest that if blood-related immune profiles are taken early, they may give doctors more time and better guidance to choose individualized treatments for patients. More studies are needed to validate this idea and translate it into practice. The researchers also say early information could help staff plan and make the best use of available resources.

The study was a collaboration among Mayo Clinic, U.S.; Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, India; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Tanzania; University of Pretoria, South Africa; College of Charleston, U.S.; Stremble Ventures Ltd., Cyprus; Medical University of Vienna, Austria; University of Strasbourg, France; and The University of New Mexico, U.S. For the full author list and funding, see the paper.

- Bob Nellis, March 7, 2022