Serum Homocysteine level in Paediatric Patients with COVID-19 and its Correlation with Disease Severity

Abstract

Coronavirus causes a significant infection that mostly affects the respiratory system of humans. In order to stratify high-risk patients of COVID-19, scientists urgently require accurate biomarkers related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness progression. COVID-19 pandemic is associated with vascular insults in the form of deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cerebrovascular strokes, and cardiac ischemia that are attributed to the inflammatory mediators released in response to viral infection like IL-6, IL-1, and TNF-α. Also, high levels of homocysteine are known to cause endothelial dysfunction leading to thromboembolism. Cardiovascular damage plays a significant role in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) patients, according to epidemiological findings, with ischemic heart disease and hypertension among the most common preexisting comorbidities linked to SARS-CoV-2 mortality. According to new predictive indicators of particular cardiovascular risk, a high plasma level of homocysteine greatly increases the incidence of vascular injury in both small and big vessels. Homocysteine levels over the 90th percentile have been linked to an elevated risk of degenerative and atherosclerotic processes in the coronary, brain, and peripheral circulatory systems.