WASHINGTON: Scientists have identified three different types of traits of Covid-19 disease in patients, depending on their comorbidities, complications and clinical outcomes, an advance that may help target future interventions for those most at risk.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, analyzed the electronic health records (EHRs) of 14 hospitals in the midwestern United States and 60 primary care clinics in the state of Minnesota.
According to the researchers, including those at the University of Minnesota in the United States, the study included 7,538 patients with confirmed Covid-19 between March 7 and August 25, 2020, of which 1,022 patients required hospitalization.
Almost 60 percent of the patients included in the survey had what the researchers called “phenotype II”.
They said that about 23 percent of patients had “phenotype I”, or “adverse phenotype”, which was associated with the worst clinical outcomes.
The researchers said these patients had the highest level of comorbidities related to heart and kidney dysfunction.
According to the study, 173 patients, or 16.9 percent, had “phenotype III”, or the “favorable phenotype”, which the scientists said was associated with better clinical outcomes.
Although this group has the lowest rate of complications and mortality, the scientists said that these patients had the highest rate of respiratory comorbidities, as well as a 10 percent higher risk of hospital readmission compared to the other phenotypes.
Overall, they said that phenotypes I and II were associated with 7.30 and 2.57-fold increases in the risk of death compared to phenotype III.
Based on the results, the scientists said that such phenotype-specific medical care could improve the results of Covid-19.
However, they believe that further studies are needed to determine the usefulness of these findings in clinical practice.
“Patients do not suffer from Covid-19 uniformly. By identifying similarly affected groups, we not only improve our understanding of the disease process, but it allows us to accurately target future interventions for the most at risk patients,” added scientists.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, analyzed the electronic health records (EHRs) of 14 hospitals in the midwestern United States and 60 primary care clinics in the state of Minnesota.
According to the researchers, including those at the University of Minnesota in the United States, the study included 7,538 patients with confirmed Covid-19 between March 7 and August 25, 2020, of which 1,022 patients required hospitalization.
Almost 60 percent of the patients included in the survey had what the researchers called “phenotype II”.
They said that about 23 percent of patients had “phenotype I”, or “adverse phenotype”, which was associated with the worst clinical outcomes.
The researchers said these patients had the highest level of comorbidities related to heart and kidney dysfunction.
According to the study, 173 patients, or 16.9 percent, had “phenotype III”, or the “favorable phenotype”, which the scientists said was associated with better clinical outcomes.
Although this group has the lowest rate of complications and mortality, the scientists said that these patients had the highest rate of respiratory comorbidities, as well as a 10 percent higher risk of hospital readmission compared to the other phenotypes.
Overall, they said that phenotypes I and II were associated with 7.30 and 2.57-fold increases in the risk of death compared to phenotype III.
Based on the results, the scientists said that such phenotype-specific medical care could improve the results of Covid-19.
However, they believe that further studies are needed to determine the usefulness of these findings in clinical practice.
“Patients do not suffer from Covid-19 uniformly. By identifying similarly affected groups, we not only improve our understanding of the disease process, but it allows us to accurately target future interventions for the most at risk patients,” added scientists.