CLINICO-RADIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN COVID-19 PATIENTS AND ITS CORRELATION TO PRIOR BCG VACCINATIONS STATUS
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Keywords
COVID-19, BCG vaccination, mortality, severity, radiological profile
Abstract
Background: Given the impact of COVID-19 and the global scramble to find ways to combat its spread and mortality, there has been interest in whether existing vaccines like BCG could provide some protection against the virus.
Aim: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of prior BCG vaccination in reducing COVID-19 infection and severity.
Methods: The study included adult patients, aged 18 years or older with laboratory confirmed COVID 19 either by Rapid antigen test(RAT) or RNA reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay from nasal, pharyngeal or lower respiratory tract sample, who were admitted for either quarantine or required hospitalization in view of moderate to severe COVID 19 disease. Radiological disease severity was assessed based on CT findings and severity score. These clinical, radiological and inflammatory parameters were compared between BCG vaccinated and non vaccinated patients.
Results: A total of 918 patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection of varying severity were included. Out of 918 included patients 604 (65.8%) were males and 314 (34.2%) were females with male to female ratio of 1.8:1. Mean age of study population was 51.5±17.1 years with age ranging from 18 to 100 years. Total 472 patients ( 51.4%) had evidence of prior BCG vaccination whereas 446 patients (48.6 %) had no evidence of prior BCG vaccination. Majority of patients had severe COVID illness ( 434, 47.3%) followed by mild ( 286, 31.1%) and moderate illness ( 198, 21.6%). Most common comorbidity was diabetes ( 311, 33.9%) followed by hypertension ( 295, 32.1%).
Conclusion: We concluded that neonatal BCG vaccination limits the radiological severity of the COVID-19 pneumonia but does not give any mortality benefit to COVID-19 patients.
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Shahid Majid
Senior Resident, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Mehvish Mushtaq
Senior Resident, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Inaamul Haq
Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Majid Jahangir
Professor and Principal, Government Medical College Baramulla, India
Naveed Nazir Shah
Professor and Head, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Khurshid Ahmad Dar
Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Syed Suraiya Farooq
Associate Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Tajamul Hussain Shah
Assistant Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India
Mohammad Yousef Dar
Assistant Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar, India