Baseline patient characteristics of former and recent PWID and non-PWIDs treated for chronic HCV infection.

<p>Baseline patient characteristics of former and recent PWID and non-PWIDs treated for chronic HCV infection.</p

Treatment response.

<p>Rates of sustained viral response (95% CI bars) with dual therapy in PWID (people who inject drugs) and non-PWID (a) for all genotypes– 64.1% ss 60.9% (b) genotype 1–48.6% vs 48.6% and (c) genotype 3–74.7% vs 73.3%.</p

Adherence and treatment responses in people who inject drugs (PWID) and non-PWIDs.

<p>Adherence and treatment responses in people who inject drugs (PWID) and non-PWIDs.</p

Prolonged elevation of D-dimer levels in convalescent COVID-19 patients is independent of the acute phase response

Background: Persistent fatigue, breathlessness, and reduced exercise tolerance have been reported following acute COVID-19 infection. Although immuno-thrombosis has been implicated in acute COVID-19 pathogenesis, the biological mechanisms underpinning long COVID remain unknown. We hypothesized that pulmonary microvascular immuno-thrombosis may be important in this context.Methods: One hundred fifty COVID-19 patients were reviewed at St James's Hospital Dublin between May and September 2020 at a median of 80.5 (range 44-155) days after initial diagnosis. These included patients hospitalized during initial illness (n = 69) and others managed entirely as out-patients (n = 81). Clinical examination, chest x-ray, and 6-min walk tests were performed. In addition, a range of coagulation and inflammatory markers were assessed.Results: Increased D-dimer levels (>500 ng/ml) were observed in 25.3% patients up to 4 months post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. On univariate analysis, elevated convalescent D-dimers were more common in COVID-19 patients who had required hospital admission and in patients aged more than 50 years (p 90% of convalescent patients.Conclusions: Elucidating the biological mechanisms responsible for sustained D-dimer increases may be of relevance in long COVID pathogenesis and has implications for clinical management of these patients.</p

Persistent endotheliopathy in the pathogenesis of long COVID syndrome

Background: Persistent symptoms including breathlessness, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance have been reported in patients after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. The biological mechanisms underlying this "long COVID" syndrome remain unknown. However, autopsy studies have highlighted the key roles played by pulmonary endotheliopathy and microvascular immunothrombosis in acute COVID-19.Objectives: To assess whether endothelial cell activation may be sustained in convalescent COVID-19 patients and contribute to long COVID pathogenesis.Patients and methods: Fifty patients were reviewed at a median of 68 days following SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to clinical workup, acute phase markers, endothelial cell (EC) activation and NETosis parameters and thrombin generation were assessed.Results: Thrombin generation assays revealed significantly shorter lag times (p Conclusions: Collectively, our findings demonstrate that sustained endotheliopathy is common in convalescent COVID-19 and raise the intriguing possibility that this may contribute to long COVID pathogenesis.</p