Case Report: Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage in Critically ill Patients With SARS-CoV-2-Related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C)

Case Report: Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage in Critically ill Patients With SARS-CoV-2-Related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C)

A new study of COVID-19 on children confirms how endothelial glycocalyx damage has been associated with severe inflammation, thrombotic phenomena, and profound hypoxemia in critically ill patients. The study, titled “Case Report: Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage in Critically ill Patients With SARS-CoV-2-Related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C),” included use of GlycoCheck to report that endothelial activation leads to a loss of the endothelium's antithrombotic properties which, under normal conditions, are maintained by the endothelial glycocalyx, the carbohydrate-rich layer that covers the luminal surface of endothelial cells. In children, one of the serious forms of SARS-CoV-2 virus disease (COVID-19) is multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This new disease is characterized by a large inflammatory response and frequent cardiovascular, cutaneous, and gastrointestinal disorders.

The report says “Endothelial glycocalyx involvement and damage in children with MIS-C could at least partially explain some of the manifestations of shock, myocardial dysfunction and cardiovascular disorders seen in these patients. As the endothelial glycocalyx degrades, the protection barrier of these cells is lost, favoring interstitial edema, capillary leakage and multiple organ failure. In addition, the ability to sense shear stress is lost, with the consequent release of nitric oxide from the endothelium leading to the systemic vasodilation frequently seen in children with MIS-C related shock. To our knowledge, this is the first report of endothelial glycocalyx involvement and damage in children with MIS-C.”

The newly released case report study was conducted in Columbia by 1) the Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Fundación Cardioinfantil-Instituto de Cardiología, Universidad de la Sabana,Bogotá, 2) Colombia Graduate School, Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia, and 3) the Department of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine, Universidad de la Sabana, Chia, Colombia.

Dr. Hans Vink, the Chief Science Officer of GlycoCheck, notes that this is the fourth study of COVID-19 in recent months that have used GlycoCheck. Dr. Vink adds that “GlycoCheck has now confirmed once again that individuals who contract COVID-19 suffer substantial damage to the endothelial glycocalyx, and that systems inside the body start to fail.”

The Columbia study was published by Frontiers in Pediatrics and joins three other studies that have used GlycoCheck. The other three peer-reviewed papers include:

  1. Microvascular dysfunction in COVID-19: the MYSTIC study published in Aniogenesis
  2. Vascular Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage in COVID-19 published by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences
  3. Association of COVID-19 with impaired endothelial glycocalyx, vascular function and myocardial deformation four months after infection published by the European Journal of Heart Failure

 

 

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