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Correlation between Heart fatty acid binding protein and severe COVID-19: A case-control study
Li Yin1, Huaming Mou1, Jiang Shao1
1Department of Cardiology, Heart Center, Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital, Affiliated Three Gorges Hospital of Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Elevated heart-fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) levels correlate with COVID-19 severity. This marker may predict rapid progression from mild to severe COVID-19 cases, though it did not impact mortality.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Heart-fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) is a known heart-specific marker.
- The relationship between HFABP and COVID-19 severity was previously unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between HFABP levels and COVID-19 severity.
- To determine if HFABP can predict disease progression in COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 46 COVID-19 patients.
- HFABP levels were measured upon diagnosis and monitored during hospitalization.
- Statistical analysis, including chi-square tests and odds ratios, was used to assess correlation.
Main Results:
- 16 out of 46 patients had HFABP > 7 ng/mL upon admission.
- 14 of these 16 patients developed severe COVID-19.
- Elevated HFABP showed an odds ratio of 6.81 for severe COVID-19.
Conclusions:
- Elevated HFABP is closely linked to COVID-19 severity.
- Increased HFABP may indicate a risk of rapid progression to severe disease.
- Negative serum HFABP suggests a potentially safer prognosis for mild COVID-19 cases, with no observed effect on mortality.
Background:
Heart-fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) has been recognized as a highly heart-specific marker. However, it is currently unknown that its HFABP is also closely related to the severity of COVID-19.
Methods:
We retrospectively screened 46 patients who met our inclusion criteria within 4 weeks. They were tested for HFABP after the diagnosis of COVID-19, and monitored for HFABP during their hospital stay. We tracked the patients during their hospital stay to determine if they had severe COVID-19 or mild-to-severe transition features. We calculated the chi-square test values found for HFABP to predict the correlation between HFABP levels and the severity of the COVID-19.
Results:
Of these 46 cases, 16 cases with confirmed COVID-19 were tested for HFABP> 7 ng / mL upon admission; among them, 14 cases were diagnosed with severe COVID-19 within the hospitalization. The Odds ratio of the measured HFABP elevation was 6.81(95% confidence interval [CI] 5.23-8.40), and 3 patients with severe COVID-19 progressed in 5 patients with mild HFABP> 7 ng/mL.
Conclusion:
These data indicate that the elevation of HFABP is closely related to the severity of COVID-19 in the patients, and the elevated HFABP may cause rapid development of patients with mild COVID-19 into severe COVID-19. But serum HFABP negative maybe make patients with mild COVID-19 safer, the current data show no effect on the all-cause mortality.
Trial Registration:
Our study has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, the registration number: ChiCTR2000029829.
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