Table 4.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the 28 PwMS enrolled according to the COVID-19 severity.
| Patients’ Characteristics | COVID-19 Severity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild Disease | Moderate Disease | Severe Disease | Total | p | |
| Total | 21 (75.0) | 5 (17.9) | 2 (7.1) | 28 (100) | |
| Age, median (IQR) years | 47 (39–53) | 49 (30–55) | 47.5 (46–49) | 47.5 (38–53.5) | 0.969 |
| Age class, n (%) | 0.511 | ||||
| 23–39 | 6 (28.6) | 2 (40) | 0 (0) | 8 (28.6) | |
| 40–49 | 6 (28.6) | 1 (20) | 2 (100) | 9 (32.1) | |
| 50–70 | 9 (42.9) | 2 (40) | 0 (0) | 11 (39.3) | |
| Gender, n (%) | 0.293 | ||||
| Female | 13 (61.9) | 2 (40) | 0 (0) | 15 (53.6) | |
| Male | 8 (38.1) | 3 (60) | 2 (100) | 13 (46.4) | |
| Presence of comorbidities, n (%) | 0.696 | ||||
| No | 16 (76.2) | 5 (100) | 2 (100) | 23 (82.1) | |
| Yes | 5 (23.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (17.9) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (IQR) | 24.2 (22.8–26.8) | 22.1 (21.8–23.6) | 24.5 (23.2–25.8) | 24 (22–26.6) | 0.571 |
| Vaccination-First dose type, n (%) | 1.000 | ||||
| Comirnaty | 19 (90.5) | 5 (100) | 2 (100) | 26 (92.9) | |
| Other | 2 (9.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (7.1) | |
| MS duration, median (IQR) months(?) | 15 (5.7–24.8) | 10.7 (9.1–14) | 19.1 (7.9–30.3) | 12.9 (5.8–25) | 0.763 |
| MS treatment, n (%) | 0.463 | ||||
| Cladribine | 1 (4.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3.6) | |
| Fingolimod | 8 (38.1) | 1 (20) | 1 (50) | 10 (35.7) | |
| Interferon beta | 6 (28.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 6 (21.4) | |
| Ocrelizumab | 6 (28.6) | 4 (80) | 1 (50) | 11 (39.3) | |
| MS treatment duration, median (IQR) months | 4.7 (1.9–8) | 1.9 (1.8–4.1) | 6.7 (3.4–9.9) | 3.7 (1.8–7.9) | 0.310 |
| EDSS score, median (IQR) | 2 (0–2.5) | 1.5 (1–1.5) | 6.5 (6.5–6.5) | 1.8 (0.5–3) | 0.064 |
| <3 | 16 (76.2) | 4 (80.0) | 0 (0) | 20 (71.4) | 0.089 |
| ≥3 | 5 (23.8) | 1 (20.0) | 2 (100) | 8 (28.6) | |
| MS phenotype, n (%) | 0.253 | ||||
| Primary-progressive (PP) | 2 (9.5) | 1 (20) | 1 (50) | 4 (14.3) | |
| Relapsing-Remitting (RR) | 19 (90.5) | 4 (80) | 1 (50) | 24 (85.7) | |
| Lymphocytes count × 103/µL, median (IQR) | 1.3 (0.7–1.7) | 1.5 (1.2–1.7) | 1.5 (0.2–2.7) | 1.3 (0.7–1.8) | 0.912 |
| COVID-19 therapy, n(%) | 0.098 | ||||
| Anti-viral therapy | 4 (19.1) | 1 (20.0) | 0 (0) | 5 (17.9) | |
| Monoclonal therapy | 7 (33.3) | 4 (80.0) | 0 (0) | 11 (39.3) | |
| NSAIDs, paracetamol or no therapy | 10 (47.6) | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | 12 (42.9) | |
| Days from booster dose to infection, median (IQR) | 153 (105–169) | 204 (154–204) | 263 (258–268) | 154.5 (108–204.5) | 0.129 |
| anti-RBD IgG (BAU/mL), median (IQR) | |||||
| continuous | 407 (2–2319) | 1 (0–4) | 268 (0–537) | 135 (1–1337) | 0.160 |
| <7.1, n (%) | 6 (28.6) | 4 (80) | 1 (50) | 11 (39.3) | 0.090 |
| ≥7.1, n (%) | 15 (71.4) | 1 (20) | 1 (50) | 17 (60.7) | |
| IFN-γ T cell-specific response (pg/mL), median (IQR) | |||||
| continuous | 166 (1–564) | 238 (207–353) | 365 (0–729) | 188 (1–578) | 0.957 |
| <16, n (%) | 8 (38.1) | 1 (20) | 1 (50) | 10 (35.7) | 0.823 |
| ≥16, n (%) | 13 (61.9) | 4 (80) | 1 (50) | 18 (64.3) | |
| Neutralizing antibodies, median (IQR) | |||||
| continuous | 20 (5–160) | 5 (5–5) | 23 (5–40) | 5 (5–160) | 0.323 |
| <10, n (%) | 10 (47.6) | 4 (80) | 1 (50) | 15 (53.6) | 0.655 |
| ≥10, n (%) | 11 (52.4) | 1 (20) | 1 (50) | 13 (46.4) | |
IQR: interquartile range; BMI: body mass index; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PwMS: patients with multiple sclerosis; RBD: receptor-binding domain; IFN: interferon; EDSS: Expanded Disability Status Scale. In bold are reported the patient’s characteristics.