2 research outputs found
Evaluation of IgG Antibody Response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 in Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Care Centre, Chennai, India
Introduction: Globally, the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID19) pandemic poses a high risk for Healthcare Workers (HCWs)
who are among the population that is most vulnerable of
being infected with Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeCoronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). With a prevailing pandemic such
as COVID-19, it becomes important to understand the presence
and persistence of antibodies in the serum of HCW, testing
positive for COVID-19 on Reverse transcriptase Polymerase
Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). An understanding of the prevalence
of IgG antibodies against COVID-19 and the duration for which
they are present in the serum will help in predicting the immune
response of individuals against the disease.
Aim: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 IgG antibodies in
laboratory confirmed COVID-19 RT-PCR positive symptomatic,
asymptomatic and RT-PCR negative subjects.
Materials and Methods: The present longitudinal study was
conducted from April 2020 to December 2020 with a sample
size of 90 participants based on a pilot study. Blood sample
was collected and serum was separated. Enzyme Linked
Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was done to detect the presence
of COVID-19 IgG antibody in serum. Chi-square test and Pearson
correlation were used to find out the statistical significance of
COVID-19 IgG antibodies in COVID-19 positive and negative
HCWs and the relationship between Cycle threshold values (Ct)
and antibody levels, respectively.
Results: Fever with sore throat was the most common (33%)
symptom. Chi-square test done to compare IgG among RT-PCR
positive and negative subjects showed p-value of <0.00001
which was significant. However, statistical significance was
not found (p-value 0.9973) with respect to COVID-19 IgG
antibodies in RT-PCR positive COVID-19 asymptomatic and
symptomatic subjects. Mean antibody index in symptomatic
and asymptomatic was 3.7743±1.9834 and 3.571±1.7961,
respectively. Average number of days, the antibodies persisted
was 25 days-266 days.
Conclusion: The prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among
RT-PCR positive symptomatic, asymptomatic and RT-PCR
negative subjects was 88%, 67% and 27%, respectively. The
maximum number of days antibodies persisted was 266 days.
Further studies will elucidate whether these antibodies prevent
re-infection
Oral Candidiasis among Cancer Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Chennai, South India: An Evaluation of Clinicomycological Association and Antifungal Susceptibility Pattern
Oropharyngeal candidiasis is one of the common manifestations seen in cancer patients on cytotoxic therapy and invasion into deeper tissues can occur if not treated promptly. Emergence of antifungal drug resistance is of serious concern owing to the associated morbidity and mortality. The present study aims at evaluation of clinicomycological association and antifungal drug susceptibility among the 180 recruited patients with cancer on chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy with signs or symptoms suggestive of oral candidiasis. Speciation and antifungal susceptibility was done by Microbroth dilution method for fluconazole, Itraconazole, and Amphotericin B as per standard microbiological techniques. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis (p<0.05 was considered statistically significant). Candida albicans was the predominant species isolated (94) (58%) followed by Candida tropicalis (34) (20.9%). Fluconazole and Itraconazole showed an overall resistance rate of 14% and 14.8%, respectively. All the isolates were susceptible to Amphotericin B. There was a significant association between the presence of dry mouth and isolation of Candida (p<0.001). Such clinicomicrobiological associations can help in associating certain symptoms with the isolation of Candida. Species level identification with in vitro antifungal susceptibility pattern is essential to choose the appropriate drug and to predict the outcome of therapy