Multi-organ Failure in SARS-CoV2: Identifying Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutic Targets
In the United Kingdom, there are currently 138,000 confirmed patients with coronavirus, causing 18,738 deaths. Whilst the disease may be mild in the majority of patients, a significant proportion of patients require intensive care therapy and a ventilator due to lung injury. In addition to lung injury/failure (acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)), around 50% of patients admitted to intensive care develop acute kidney injury (AKI) (requiring advanced support via haemofiltration) and multi-organ failure. It is unclear why patients suffering from COVID-19 develop such severe lung injury (requiring life support or ventilation) or indeed why patients develop other organ dysfunction such as kidney injury. The investigators hypothesis that this may due to an over-reaction of the immune system particularly in the lungs. This then results in the release of various mediators and biological messengers which can be pushed into the blood bloodstream (exacerbated by positive pressure generated by the ventilator). These mediators then travel, via the blood, to other organs such as the kidney where they cause inflammation and injury of cells, resulting in organ failure. The investigators would like to apply their well-established laboratory methods to further the scientific community's knowledge of this severe and deadly viral condition and we hope that this would lead to the development of medication that would treat this deadly virus.
• Male and female patients aged 18-90 years;
• Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and without COVID-19 (control purposes);
• Patients who have developed evidence of organ injury failure (requiring oxygen).