AI-based blood test could revolutionize diagnosis of long Covid in children

AI-based blood test could revolutionize diagnosis of long Covid in children

One day long Covid in children could be objectively diagnosed thanks to the help of artificial intelligence (AI) blood test. In fact, a study by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome campus – Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS and the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù IRCCS, has highlighted the molecular signature of Long Covid in plasma in pediatric age and used an AI tool capable of Diagnosis is based on the results of the blood sample with an accuracy of 93%.

The study was published in the journal. 'Children's research', from Nature Group, and was designed by Dr. Danilo Buonsenso, general and specialist researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University and pediatrician at the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department, led Dr. Nicola Cotugno in the complex operational unit of Clinical Immunology and Vaccine of the Bambino Geesù irccs Pediatric Hospital.

The study included, among others, Dr. Piero Valentini, general researcher and specialist in pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University and director of pediatric infectious diseases of the operational unit of the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli Irccs, as well as Dr. Paolo Palma, head of the complex operational unit of clinical immunology and vaccination of the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS.

background

Long Covid impacts an average of 0.5% of pediatric patients exposed to SARS-CoV-2. This condition, also known as post-Covid or post-acute sequelae of SARS-COV-2, is characterized by the persistence of signs and symptoms for at least 8-12 weeks. Symptoms are not present before the viral infection, with negative effects on daily life. Long Covid affects patients of almost all ages, and among pediatric patients, those older than 10 years appear to be most affected, regardless of the severity of the initial infection.

In adults, the long Covid sign was found in the blood of adults, but a similar finding in the pediatric population was missing.

The study

The experts analyzed the blood of 112 young people aged 0 to 19, 34 of whom had a clinical diagnosis of long Covid (hyperinflammatory reaction, which almost always requires intensive care) and 19 healthy control counterparts.

The experts carried out an analysis of the blood protein component (proteomics) and saw that, compared to the control groups, the pediatric long Covid was characterized by a higher presence in plasma of the pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic chemokine sets CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, TNFSF11, OSM, STAMBP1A. An artificial intelligence model based on proteomic profiling was able to identify Long Covid with an accuracy of 0.93, a specificity of 0.86 and a sensitivity of 0.97.

Conclusions

Long Covid in pediatric patients also shows a different protein signature in plasma, characterized by increased inflammation in general and at the level of the blood vessel walls (endothelium), as already seen in adults. The discovery could lead to the development of a simple routine diagnostic test based on a blood sample, allowing timely and complete care of the pediatric patient with long Covid.

The immunological data generated in this study provide the insights needed to identify therapeutic targets to be tested in efficacy and safety studies in pediatric Long Covid. “

Dr. Nicola Cotugno, complex clinical immunology and vaccine operational unit of the Bambino Geesù irccs pediatric hospital

“This work shows that it is undeniable that Long Covid, even in the pediatric era, is an organic immune-mediated disease that requires new funding to investigate the best therapeutic approaches,” concludes Dr. Buonsenso.

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