Professional's Health in Epidemiological Crisis Covid-19

• Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2

• Registration Number: NCT04885478
• Lead Sponsor: Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina

Brief Summary

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic. Epidemiological and clinical inter-individual differences, symptomatology, recovery and humoral response against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are key factors to better understand and predict the course of the pandemic. As Health Care Workers (HCWs) are caring for infected patients they are more susceptible to infection, which not only is critical for their own health but also because it results in a shortage of HCWs that seriously affects health services. Thus, maintaining the health and welfare of HCWs and enabling their rapid return to work is vital to overcome this crisis. The ProHEpiC-19 cohort presents data on the immune response of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2. This dynamic cohort was started in March 2020 and still continues including participants.

Detailed Description

Objectives:

Primary: To consolidate a prospective cohort of Health Care Workers (HCWs) to generate epidemiological and clinical high quality data. This information will be relevant to improve health policies and clinical COVID-19 protocols. This cohort will also be used as an ongoing platform to implement SARS-CoV-2 research projects with particular emphasis on incidence rate, reinfection, vaccines, and long term immune response.

Secondary:

1. To determine the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and cellular immune response in early, mid, and long periods of immunization.

2. To assess the relation between clinical variables and initial RT-PCR results with the interindividual differences in the immune response in early, mid, and long periods of immunization.

3. To analyze differentially expressed cytokines as biomarkers of disease progression in early, mid, and long periods of immunization.

Methods and analysis: Longitudinal, dynamic, prospective cohort study with a 12-month follow-up, which is being conducted in 4 primary-care centres and one hospital of Northern Metropolitana Nord of Barcelona (Spain). For now, the study consists of 1350 participants divided into 2 cohorts: 1) Healthy-Exposed HCWs: 675 not infected by SARS-CoV-2 (RT-PCR with a negative result and negative SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at baseline) and 2) Infected HCWs: 675 symptomatic participants (those with new persistent cough, temperature ≥37.5°C, anosmia, or ageusia or other compatible symptoms with COVID-19) or asymptomatic participants diagnosed by positive RT-PCR test and/or SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM, IgG at baseline). Primary outcomes include: humoral and cellular immune response, quantitative antibodies to SARS-Cov-2, SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels related to progression phenotype, clinical spectrum of SARS-Cov-2, symptomatology, demographics and other variables that may be predictive of immune response.

Follow-up: baseline, 15 days, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Findings to date: Current literature has shown that the immune response is maintained for a minimum of 2 months. Nevertheless little is known about the association between the immune response and the progression phenotype of COVID-19 .

Future plans: This prospective cohort offers the possibility to study associations between immune response and progression phenotype according to age and gender as well as long-term immune response. In turn, we will be able to examine possible cumulative effects, taking into account several clinical variables. The study is ongoing and we plan to extend it to increase the size of the cohort until 2024.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2020-03-30
• Status Verified: 2021-05
• Study First Submitted: 2021-05-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-05-12
• Study First Posted: 2021-05-13
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-05-18
• Last Update Posted: 2021-05-21
• Primary Completion: 2022-06-30
• Study Completion: 2022-06-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1350

Inclusion Criteria

• ≥ 18 years of age
• Accept to take part in the study and sign the informed consent according to the Declaration of Helsinki.
• To be a health care professional worker infected or exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

Exclusion Criteria

• < 18 years old
• Not to accept to take part in the study and/or not to sign the informed consent according to the Declaration of Helsinki.
• Not to be a health care professional worker exposed to SARS-CoV-2

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Creation prospective cohort of health care workers	Baseline, to 12 months after the beginning of the study	Include 675 exposed HCW participants and 675 infected HCW participants againts SARS-CoV-2, cohorts will be compared at each time point in terms of sociodemographic, epidemiological, clinical, and immunological information available. an exploratory bivariate analysis will be performed using the tests of Chi Square, ANOVA, Kruskall-Walis, depending on the application conditions assumptions.
Cohort description demografics ( age, sex, academic level, housing characteristics, work variables )	Baseline, to 12 months after the beginning of the study	Descriptive analysis of the participants will be performed using the number and percentage for categorical variables, and mean and standard deviation or median and quartiles 1 and 3 for quantitative variables, an exploratory bivariate analysis will be performed using the tests of Chi Square, ANOVA, Kruskall-Walis, depending on the application conditions assumptions.
Cohort description clinical spectrum (asymptomatic, mild-moderate Illness, severe-critical)	Baseline, to 12 months after the beginning of the study	Cohort comparison , an exploratory bivariate analysis will be performed using the tests of Chi Square, ANOVA, Kruskall-Walis, depending on the application conditions assumptions.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cytokines as biomarkers of disease progression in early, mid, and long periods of immunization.	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	Cryopreserved plasma samples will be used in a 45-plex assay of soluble mediators. The plates will be read with a Luminex instrument (Luminex 200, Austin Luminex, USA).Appropriate statistical tests (i.e. t-test or Mann-Whitney to compare between sexes and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis to compare between clinical spectrums) will be used after checking for normality (Shapiro-test)
Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2. IgM Nucleocapside	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	IgM (nucleocapside) ELISA kits (Inmunodiagnostic Limited ©). Positivity thresholds were provided by the assay manufacturers and were considered positive with an index value greater than 1.1, indeterminate from 0.9 to 1.1 and negative if \<0.9 index units
Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2. IgG Spike	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	IgG (spike). ELISA kits DECOV1901 (Demeditec Diagnostics GmbH©). Positivity thresholds were provided by the assay manufacturers and were considered positive with an index value greater than 40, indeterminate from 32 to 40 and negative if \<32 Ul/ml
Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2. T-Cell	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	SARS-CoV-2 specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses we performed an IFNγ ELISPOT assay. Wells will be considered positive if they contained at least 50 spot-forming cells per 106 PBMCs above the background level (2X mean + 3Xstandard deviation).
To assess the relation between clinical variables and initial RT-PCR results in the whole sample and by sex.	Baseline, to 12 months after the beginning of the study	To study the differences between clinical spectrums and initial RT-PCR we will use ANOVAs or Kruskal-Wallis tests, after checking normality assumption using a Shapiro-test
To analyse the relation between clinical variables and the interindividual differences in the immune response in early, mid, and long periods of immunization in the whole sample and by sex	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	To study the differences between clinical spectrums and immune response in early period we will use ANOVAs or Kruskal-Wallis tests, after checking normality assumption using a Shapiro-test . Similarly, to look for differences in antibody levels between sex, either a t-test or a Mann-Whitney test will be performed.
Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2. IgG Nucleocapside	Baseline, 7 days, 15 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the beginning of the study	IgG (nucleocapside) ELISA kits (Inmunodiagnostic Limited ©). Positivity thresholds were provided by the assay manufacturers and were considered positive with an index value greater than 1.1, indeterminate from 0.9 to 1.1 and negative if \<0.9 index units

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Jordi Gol i Gurina Foundation; 🇪🇸 Mataró, Barcelona, Spain