An excellent review of a genetic determinant of severity of disease: autoantibodies against interferon. Some practical lessons:
-provides another explanation for the increased risk of severe disease in men
-potential for screening patients for autoantibodies against interferon
-potential for inhaled interferon
-identification of patients that historically have a poor response to influenza and other viral infections. As a note, we automatically classify our patients as “high risk” for severe Covid infection if they have had severe influenza in the past. This impacts the outpatient treatment regimen and expected course of disease.
https://khn.org/news/breakthrough-finding-reveals-why-certain-covid-patients-die/
