Caracterização clínica, epidemiológica e genética de pacientes com COVID-19 em uma região do sul do Brasil.

Abstract

Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and declared a pandemic in March 2020. To date, the disease has accumulated more than 250 million people infected and more than 5 million deaths in all regions of the world, numbers that are growing every day. The main symptoms are associated with the respiratory system, however the gastrointestinal, nervous and cardiovascular systems can also be affected. The interaction with the host receptor is given through the binding of the spike glycoprotein with the angiotensin 2 converting enzyme (ACE2), allowing the virus to enter human cells and initiate the infectious process. The ACE2 gene is highly polymorphic and the presence of variants can be an indication for chronic diseases and also for the susceptibility and severity of Covid-19. Thus, the aim of the study was to characterize the epidemiological, clinical and genetic profile of patients with Covid-19 in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul. For this, an observational and cross-sectional study was carried out with volunteers who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the period from April 2020 to May 2021 in the municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul (RS, Brazil). Next, clinical and epidemiological data were collected, in addition to blood samples for sequencing by capillary electrophoresis to identify polymorphisms in the ACE2 gene. Eighty-seven individuals were recruited and of these 16.7% required hospitalization, the majority being male. Obesity was the most frequent comorbidity, however, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes were more significant when associated with hospitalizations. Regarding the genetics of volunteers, no polymorphisms were found in the ACE2 gene. Thus, research suggests that male gender and the presence of comorbidities are important risk factors for the severity of Covid-19. Furthermore, future studies should be carried out in a larger number of individuals to better explore the relationship between variations in the ACE2 gene and SARS-CoV-2 infection.