Adult and pediatric COVID 19 Mississippi biobank collection

Abstract

Background: At the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has been prepared to take care of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. There are a few studies investigating different aspects of COVID-19. We aim to collect blood samples from adult and pediatric patients with diagnosis of COVID-19 to build the UMMC COVID-19 -Biobank collection. Methods: This is an IRB approved research study to build the first Mississippi biobank of COVID-19 in adult and pediatric subjects. Biological samples and medical information are extracted from hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 participants in Epic. The invitation to participate in this research study is presented to patients who express interest to their treating physician who then request patient approval to be contacted by biobank research personnel. Informed consent is obtained either via eConsent through REDcap or a phone call service may be used to talk to the patients regarding obtaining the consent or if the patient is unable to make or communicate an informed decision due to mental or physical impairment, by talking to a legally authorized representative during the hospital admission. The consent process is followed with procedures to minimize exposure to SARS-CoV-2 for research personnel. Collection of blood samples occurs on day 1 after confirmed COVID positive test, and then subsequently on day 7, day 14 and day 21 in SST, EDTA, heparin PST and PAXGene DNA and PAXGene RNA tubes. All the blood samples are processed within 2 hours to create aliquots of serum, plasma, buffy coat, PBMCs and whole blood. Each biospecimen is labeled with a unique ID that is created by a biospecimen inventory software. Results: Till date we have over 3,000 specimens from 300+ enrolled patients along with their clinical and biological data. We have disbursed about 120 specimens till now to UMMC and industry researchers. Each specimen request undergoes the review from biospecimen access committee in UMMC. This biobank collection is ongoing and we are continuously enrolling during the pandemic. Conclusions: We expect to use these samples for future research including studies on the pathophysiology of COVID-19 such as diagnostic test validation, biomarker discovery, genomic testing, pilot projects, grant submissions in the adult and pediatric population. In addition, we plan to share these samples with the scientific community interested in advancing the knowledge on this disease.