The association between acid-base status and clinical outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care unit with an emphasis on high anion gap metabolic acidosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify arterial blood gas (ABG) abnormalities, with a focus on a high anion gap (AG) metabolic acidosis and evaluate outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients admitted to the ICU.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Cape Town during the first and second COVID-19 waves. Age, gender, sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), bicarbonate (HCOstd), pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO), creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), lactate levels and ABG results were obtained.

Correlating arterial blood gas, acid-base and blood pressure abnormalities with outcomes in COVID-19 intensive care patients.

Background: During the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many studies have investigated laboratory biomarkers in management and prognostication of COVID-19 patients, however to date, few have investigated arterial blood gas, acid-base and blood pressure patterns. The aim of the study is to assess the arterial blood gas and acid-base patterns, blood pressure findings and their association with the outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to an intensive care unit.

Methods: A single-centre retrospective, observational study in a dedicated COVID-19 intensive care unit in Cape Town, South Africa.

Molecules in pathogenesis: angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

The renin-angiotensin system is mainly associated with the regulation of blood pressure, but recently many other functions of this system have been described. ACE2, an 805-amino acid monocarboxypeptidase type I transmembrane glycoprotein, was discovered in 2000 and has sequence similarity to two other proteins, namely ACE and collectrin. The ACE2 gene is located on Xp22 and is highly polymorphic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the renin-angiotensin system: A closer look at angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

Since the first cases of atypical pneumonia linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, were described in late December 2019, the global landscape has changed radically. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and at the time of writing this review, just over three million individuals have been infected with more than 200,000 deaths globally. Numerous countries are in 'lockdown', social distancing is the new norm, even the most advanced healthcare systems are under pressure, and a global economic recession seems inevitable.