SARS-CoV-2 Infection Susceptibility of Pregnant Patients at Term Regarding ABO and Rh Blood Groups: A Cohort Study.

Roxana Covali,Vasile Lucian Boiculese,Ioana Pavaleanu,Demetra Socolov,Razvan Socolov,Alexandru Carauleanu

doi:10.3390/medicina57050499

Roxana Covali, Vasile Lucian Boiculese + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57050499

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Abstract

Background and Objectives: The susceptibility of pregnant patients at term to SARS-CoV-2 infection regarding the ABO and Rh blood group polymorphism was analyzed in this study. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, 457 patients admitted for delivery at term in our hospital, between 1 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 were studied. There were 46 positive and 411 SARS-CoV-2 negative patients. Their values for RT-PCR, ABO, and Rh blood group analyses, which were determined upon admittance, were studied. Results: A slightly higher percentage of infected pregnant patients at term belonged to the A blood group compared with the percentage belonging to the other blood groups; this was also true for the healthy control group. For the Rh-negative pregnant patients at term, the odds of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 was OR = 1.22 compared with Rh-positive patients where OR = 1. In our study, the highest risk was found among BIII Rh-negative pregnant patients at term (OR = 3). None of the above differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: No significant difference was found between the percentage of ABO or Rh blood groups in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients when compared with SARS-CoV-2 negative patients (p = 0.562).

Highlights

Published: 14 May 2021Maintenance of the ABO polymorphism throughout human evolution might have had an adaptative value in past epidemics of other viruses with transmission characteristics similar to those of SARS, because it allows for modifications of immune behavior which limits the spread of epidemics [1].In 1971, Robinson [2] discovered that the combined estimate for the risk of having an E. coli infection for patients with blood groups B or AB was 1.55 times that of patients with blood groups O or A, for Salmonella infection it was 2.31 times the risk because these microorganisms possess a B-like antigen [3]
The Pearson chi-square test showed no significant difference between the percentage of ABO blood groups in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients compared with the SARS-CoV-2 negative patients (p = 0.562)
As regards the Rh blood groups, we found that the Rh factor did not significantly influence the possibility of being SARS-CoV-2 positive among pregnant patients at term

Summary

Introduction

Published: 14 May 2021Maintenance of the ABO polymorphism throughout human evolution might have had an adaptative value in past epidemics of other viruses with transmission characteristics similar to those of SARS, because it allows for modifications of immune behavior which limits the spread of epidemics [1].In 1971, Robinson [2] discovered that the combined estimate for the risk of having an E. coli infection for patients with blood groups B or AB was 1.55 times that of patients with blood groups O or A, for Salmonella infection it was 2.31 times the risk because these microorganisms possess a B-like antigen [3]. Maintenance of the ABO polymorphism throughout human evolution might have had an adaptative value in past epidemics of other viruses with transmission characteristics similar to those of SARS, because it allows for modifications of immune behavior which limits the spread of epidemics [1]. Several blood group proteins in the membrane act as receptors for intraerythrocytic pathogens, such as malaria [4,5]. Blood group O individuals appear to be more resistant to SARS compared with non-O individuals [6]. Barnkob [7] identified ABO blood type as a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not for hospitalization or death from COVID-19. The relative risk was 0.87 for acquiring

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