Age and Sex-Related Differences in Teicoplanine Isoform Concentrations in SARS-CoV-2 Patients
Sarah Allegra,
Francesco Chiara,
Marina Zanatta,
Giulio Mengozzi,
Maria Paola Puccinelli,
Silvia De Francia
Affiliations
Sarah Allegra
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology “Franco Ghezzo”, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10124 Orbassano, TO, Italy
Francesco Chiara
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology “Franco Ghezzo”, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10124 Orbassano, TO, Italy
Marina Zanatta
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology “Franco Ghezzo”, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10124 Orbassano, TO, Italy
Giulio Mengozzi
Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry “Baldi e Riberi”, Metabolic Diseases Unit, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, 10126 Torino, TO, Italy
Maria Paola Puccinelli
Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry “Baldi e Riberi”, Metabolic Diseases Unit, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, 10126 Torino, TO, Italy
Silvia De Francia
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology “Franco Ghezzo”, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10124 Orbassano, TO, Italy
Teicoplanin, a glycopeptide antibiotic commonly used to treat bacterial infections, was discovered to be active in vitro against SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of teicoplanin and its components in a cohort of adult and pediatric SARS-CoV-2 patients, evaluating the effect of sex and age on analyte concentrations. The levels of AST, ALT and leukocytes were shown to be higher in females, while the C reactive protein was higher in males. Evaluating the absence/presence of teicoplanin isoforms, we observed that A2-2_3 is the only one consistently present in pediatrics and adults. In adult men and all pediatrics, A2-4_5 is always present. In pediatrics, except for A3-1, median isoform concentrations were higher in females; on the contrary, in adult patients, males showed higher levels. This is the first study to describe levels of teicoplanin isoforms in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in males and females, and pediatrics and adults, despite the small sample size of our cohort. The observed results imply that additional testing, via therapeutic drug monitoring, may be helpful to more effectively manage infections, particularly those caused by the most recent viruses.
