Impact of IFN‐β1a in treatment of a COVID‐19 patient with beta thalassemia and diabetes mellitus: A case report

Abstract

Patients with chronic diseases are severely affected by acute coronavirus syndrome. In this regard, patients with beta thalassemia intermedia and diabetes mellitus (DM) are also at high risk for coronavirus-induced respiratory failure.The present study aimed to report a case with COVID-19 with a history of chronic diseases, beta thalassemia intermedia, and DM. A 25-year-old man visited with complaints of severe shortness of breath, fever, cough without sputum, and tachypnea and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. The patient had a history of DM, beta thalassemia intermedia, and pervious history of the splenectomy.In peripheral complete blood count (CBC diff), the number of white blood cell count was 41,100 of which 38.6% were lymphocytes. We measured the normal platelet count, hemoglobin level (9.4), and red blood cell count (3.56). ESR was 97, CRP = pos+++ and PCR was positive. The high-resolution lung CT indicated ground glass opacities in peripheral areas. The patient underwent 13 days of oxygen therapy with reservoir bag-mask, non-invasive ventilation, nasal oxygen, and pharmacological treatment with IFN-β1a and meropenem, and finally discharged with an improvement of the clinical condition. Timely initiation of treatment is very important and significant for patients with beta thalassemia intermedia with COVID-19, especially despite the underlying disease of DM. According to the present report, the use of IFN-β1a was effective as a treatment option for COVID-19.