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COVID-19 Inflammatory Markers and Vitamin D Relationship in Pediatric Patients
Iulia Cristina Bagiu1,2, Ileana Luminita Scurtu3, Delia Ioana Horhat4
1Emergency Hospital for Children "Louis Turcanu", 300011 Timisoara, Romania.
Insights
Pediatric COVID-19 patients showed significant differences in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels based on age. CRP, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and vitamin D levels are key biomarkers for disease severity in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Biomarker Research
- Clinical Chemistry
Background:
- Biomarkers are crucial in understanding COVID-19, particularly in pediatric cases.
- Further research is needed to identify reliable indicators of disease in children.
- This study investigates key biomarkers in pediatric COVID-19 patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and vitamin D levels with COVID-19 in children.
- To determine if these biomarkers correlate with disease severity in pediatric patients.
- To explore age-related differences in biomarker levels among pediatric COVID-19 cases.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 181 pediatric COVID-19 patients.
- Collected data on CRP, LDH, CK, vitamin D levels, and clinical severity.
- Statistical analysis included t-tests, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-squared, and Spearman correlation tests.
Main Results:
- Significant age-related differences were observed in CRP levels (p=0.0034).
- Clinical severity was associated with CRP (p=0.0281), LDH (p=0.0410), and vitamin D (p=0.0444).
- Creatine kinase (CK) showed no significant differences or associations with severity.
Conclusions:
- CRP, LDH, and vitamin D are significant biomarkers for assessing COVID-19 in pediatric patients.
- CK levels were generally within normal ranges and not indicative of disease severity.
- These findings highlight the utility of specific biomarkers in managing pediatric COVID-19.
Background:
Biomarkers play an important role in COVID-19, and more research in this regard is needed, especially in the case of children. This study aimed to look for a link between the C reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), vitamin D and COVID-19 in pediatric patients.
Methods:
This is a retrospective cohort study, performed on children diagnosed positively with COVID-19 at a children's hospital in western Romania. Available CRP, LDH, CK vitamin D and clinical severity were recorded. For each biomarker, groups were formed by patients' age. Mean/median group differences were assessed using Student's t test or Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's post hoc tests. Association was assessed using the chi2 test, while correlation was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation.
Results:
181 positive children were studied between 1 August 2021 and 1 February 2022. Average age was 8.76 years (SD = 3.93). There were 94 (51.93%) males and 87 (48.07%) females. The cases were: 62 asymptomatic (34.25%), 107 mild (59.12%), 9 moderate (4.97%), 3 severe (1.66%). Regarding CRP, a significant difference between older and younger patients was observed (p = 0.0034). Clinical severity was associated with CRP (p = 0.0281), LDH (p = 0.0410) and vitamin D (p = 0.0444). Regarding CK, no differences or associations proved significant. Correlation testing was conducted for CRP, LDH, vitamin D and clinical signs. With the exception of LDH-CRP and LDH-vitamin D, all relationships proved statistically significant.
Conclusions:
CRP, LDH and vitamin D levels are important biomarkers for COVID-19-positive pediatric patients, while CK was mostly within normal ranges.
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