Biomedicines (Apr 2023)

A Pilot Study on Oxidative Stress during the Recovery Phase in Critical COVID-19 Patients in a Rehabilitation Facility: Potential Utility of the PAOT<sup>®</sup> Technology for Assessing Total Anti-Oxidative Capacity

  • Joël Pincemail,
  • Anne-Françoise Rousseau,
  • Jean-François Kaux,
  • Jean-Paul Cheramy-Bien,
  • Christine Bruyère,
  • Jeanine Prick,
  • David Stern,
  • Mouna-Messaouda Kaci,
  • Benoît Maertens De Noordhout,
  • Adelin Albert,
  • Céline Eubelen,
  • Caroline Le Goff,
  • Benoît Misset,
  • Etienne Cavalier,
  • Corinne Charlier,
  • Smail Meziane

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11051308
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 5
p. 1308

Abstract

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Background: Oxidative stress (OS) could cause various COVID-19 complications. Recently, we have developed the Pouvoir AntiOxydant Total (PAOT®) technology for reflecting the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of biological samples. We aimed to investigate systemic oxidative stress status (OSS) and to evaluate the utility of PAOT® for assessing TAC during the recovery phase in critical COVID-19 patients in a rehabilitation facility. Materials and Methods: In a total of 12 critical COVID-19 patients in rehabilitation, 19 plasma OSS biomarkers were measured: antioxidants, TAC, trace elements, oxidative damage to lipids, and inflammatory biomarkers. TAC level was measured in plasma, saliva, skin, and urine, using PAOT and expressed as PAOT-Plasma, -Saliva, -Skin, and -Urine scores, respectively. Plasma OSS biomarker levels were compared with levels from previous studies on hospitalized COVID-19 patients and with the reference population. Correlations between four PAOT scores and plasma OSS biomarker levels were analyzed. Results: During the recovery phase, plasma levels in antioxidants (γ-tocopherol, β-carotene, total glutathione, vitamin C and thiol proteins) were significantly lower than reference intervals, whereas total hydroperoxides and myeloperoxidase (a marker of inflammation) were significantly higher. Copper negatively correlated with total hydroperoxides (r = 0.95, p = 0.001). A similar, deeply modified OSS was already observed in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit. TAC evaluated in saliva, urine, and skin correlated negatively with copper and with plasma total hydroperoxides. To conclude, the systemic OSS, determined using a large number of biomarkers, was always significantly increased in cured COVID-19 patients during their recovery phase. The less costly evaluation of TAC using an electrochemical method could potentially represent a good alternative to the individual analysis of biomarkers linked to pro-oxidants.

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