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. 2021 Oct 13:8:757510.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.757510. eCollection 2021.

COVID-19 and Hemoglobinopathies: A Systematic Review of Clinical Presentations, Investigations, and Outcomes

Jun Xin Lee  1 , Wei Keong Chieng  2 , Sie Chong Doris Lau  1 , Chai Eng Tan  2
Affiliations

COVID-19 and Hemoglobinopathies: A Systematic Review of Clinical Presentations, Investigations, and Outcomes

Jun Xin Lee et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to provide an overview of the clinical profile and outcome of COVID-19 infection in patients with hemoglobinopathy. The rate of COVID-19 mortality and its predictors were also identified. A systematic search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines in five electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, WHO COVID-19 database) for articles published between 1st December 2019 to 31st October 2020. All articles with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with underlying hemoglobinopathy were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklists. Thirty-one articles with data on 246 patients with hemoglobinopathy were included in this review. In general, clinical manifestations of COVID-19 infection among patients with hemoglobinopathy were similar to the general population. Vaso-occlusive crisis occurred in 55.6% of sickle cell disease patients with COVID-19 infection. Mortality from COVID-19 infection among patients with hemoglobinopathy was 6.9%. After adjusting for age, gender, types of hemoglobinopathy and oxygen supplementation, respiratory (adj OR = 89.63, 95% CI 2.514-3195.537, p = 0.014) and cardiovascular (adj OR = 35.20, 95% CI 1.291-959.526, p = 0.035) comorbidities were significant predictors of mortality. Patients with hemoglobinopathy had a higher mortality rate from COVID-19 infection compared to the general population. Those with coexisting cardiovascular or respiratory comorbidities require closer monitoring during the course of illness. More data are needed to allow a better understanding on the clinical impact of COVID-19 infections among patients with hemoglobinopathy. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020218200.

Keywords: COVID-19; hemoglobinopathies; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; sickle cell disease; systematic review; thalassemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection process (flow chart adapted from PRISMA).
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