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Quantification of fibrinaloid clots in plasma from pediatric Long COVID patients using a microfluidic assay | Research SquareCiteShareDownload PDFArticleQuantification of fibrinaloid clots in plasma from pediatric Long COVID patients using a microfluidic assayDaniel Irimia, Kirandeep Gill, Bryan Alvarez-Carcamo, Carly Steifman, and 4 moreThis is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal.https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7483367/v1This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 LicenseStatus:Under ReviewVersion 1posted You are reading this latest preprint versionAbstractLong COVID (LC) impacts one in five children after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Typical LC symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, pain, and shortness of breath, which can significantly impact individuals and society. Moreover, LC may impair school performance and have long-term health and development consequences. However, the diagnosis of LC is often imprecise and cumbersome, delaying appropriate care. To address the LC diagnosis challenges, we focused on fibrinaloid clots (microclots), recently proposed as contributing to LC’s underlying mechanisms. We overcame the limitations of current microclot assessment methods, which are qualitative, by developing a microfluidic device to quantify the number of microclots in patient blood samples. We found significantly higher microclot levels in samples from pediatric LC patients than from healthy children. We evaluated the diagnostic power of the device in a cohort of 45 LC patients and 14 healthy pediatric donors. We estimated a 94% accuracy for the microclot count using the devices, significantly higher than the traditional counting of microclots on slides (66% accuracy). Intriguingly, we found the highest microclot counts in samples from patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the blood. Further studies will evaluate the utility of the assay as a screening test for Long COVID in larger populations and for assessing treatment responses.Biological sciences/BiotechnologyHealth sciences/Biomarkers/Diagnostic markersFull TextAdditional DeclarationsThere is NO Competing Interest.Supplementary FilesSupplementaryVideoV1.mp4Passive pumping to drive flow in the microfluidic deviceCiteShareDownload PDFStatus:Under ReviewVersion 1posted You are reading this latest preprint version