The intestinal microbiota predicts COVID-19 severity and fatality regardless of hospital feeding method.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2-positive patients exhibit gut and oral microbiome dysbiosis, which is associated with various aspects of COVID-19 disease (1-4). Here, we aim to identify gut and oral microbiome markers that predict COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients, specifically severely ill patients compared to moderately ill ones. Moreover, we investigate whether hospital feeding (solid versus enteral), an important cofounder, influences the microbial composition of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. We used random forest classification machine learning models with interpretable secondary analyses. The gut, but not the oral microbiota, was a robust predictor of both COVID-19-related fatality and severity of hospitalized patients, with a higher predictive value than most clinical variables. In addition,

SUBMITTER: Bucci V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10469851 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature