Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study

Objective To delineate the characteristics and clinical significance of plasma inflammatory cytokines altered in COVID-19.Design Retrospective, single-centre cohort study.Setting Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China.Participants Among a cohort of 308 patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19, 138 patients di...

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Main Authors: Fan He, Tao Wang, Liu Hu, Qing Quan Liu, Anying Cheng, Yiru Wang, Haifang Li, Xuecheng Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-11-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e041471.full
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author Fan He
Tao Wang
Liu Hu
Qing Quan Liu
Anying Cheng
Yiru Wang
Haifang Li
Xuecheng Zhao
author_facet Fan He
Tao Wang
Liu Hu
Qing Quan Liu
Anying Cheng
Yiru Wang
Haifang Li
Xuecheng Zhao
author_sort Fan He
collection DOAJ
description Objective To delineate the characteristics and clinical significance of plasma inflammatory cytokines altered in COVID-19.Design Retrospective, single-centre cohort study.Setting Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China.Participants Among a cohort of 308 patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19, 138 patients died while 170 patients recovered and were discharged from the hospital. The data were collected until 27 February 2020.Primary and secondary outcome measures Clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were obtained from electronic medical records using data collection forms.Results The percentage of patients with elevated interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) increased with severity of disease (p<0.0001 for all). IL-2R (p<0.0001), IL-6 (p<0.0001), IL-8 (p=0.0001), IL-10 (p<0.0001) and TNF (p<0.0001) were also twofold to 20-fold higher in patients who died compared with those who recovered. Also, IL-6 and IL-10 increased in both the progressive patient groups: moderate (p=0.0026) and severe (p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis, higher levels of IL-2R (OR 1.001, 95% CI 1.000 to 1.002, p=0.031) and IL-6 (OR 1.013, 95% CI 1.003 to 1.024, p=0.015) on admission were associated with increasing odds of in-hospital death, independent of other covariates, including severity of disease and lymphocyte count.Conclusion Increased proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, TNF and IL-10, showed an obvious association with both COVID-19 severity and in-hospital mortality. Thus, our study indicates that cytokines are valuable in predicting the severity of COVID-19 and helps in distinguishing critically ill patients from the less affected ones.
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spelling doaj-art-d2926a00043d49e1a60ec58b2e6aa9f12025-08-20T02:49:46ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-11-01101110.1136/bmjopen-2020-041471Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort studyFan He0Tao Wang1Liu Hu2Qing Quan Liu3Anying Cheng4Yiru Wang5Haifang Li6Xuecheng Zhao7Department of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, ChinaChina International Neuroscience Institute (China-INI), Beijing, ChinaHealth Management Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, ChinaDepartment of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, ChinaDepartment of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, ChinaDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, People’s Hospital of Yangxin County, Huangshi, Hubei, ChinaDepartment of Cardiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, ChinaObjective To delineate the characteristics and clinical significance of plasma inflammatory cytokines altered in COVID-19.Design Retrospective, single-centre cohort study.Setting Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China.Participants Among a cohort of 308 patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19, 138 patients died while 170 patients recovered and were discharged from the hospital. The data were collected until 27 February 2020.Primary and secondary outcome measures Clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were obtained from electronic medical records using data collection forms.Results The percentage of patients with elevated interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) increased with severity of disease (p<0.0001 for all). IL-2R (p<0.0001), IL-6 (p<0.0001), IL-8 (p=0.0001), IL-10 (p<0.0001) and TNF (p<0.0001) were also twofold to 20-fold higher in patients who died compared with those who recovered. Also, IL-6 and IL-10 increased in both the progressive patient groups: moderate (p=0.0026) and severe (p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis, higher levels of IL-2R (OR 1.001, 95% CI 1.000 to 1.002, p=0.031) and IL-6 (OR 1.013, 95% CI 1.003 to 1.024, p=0.015) on admission were associated with increasing odds of in-hospital death, independent of other covariates, including severity of disease and lymphocyte count.Conclusion Increased proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, TNF and IL-10, showed an obvious association with both COVID-19 severity and in-hospital mortality. Thus, our study indicates that cytokines are valuable in predicting the severity of COVID-19 and helps in distinguishing critically ill patients from the less affected ones.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e041471.full
spellingShingle Fan He
Tao Wang
Liu Hu
Qing Quan Liu
Anying Cheng
Yiru Wang
Haifang Li
Xuecheng Zhao
Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
BMJ Open
title Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
title_full Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
title_fullStr Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
title_short Cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a retrospective cohort study
title_sort cytokines and their relationship with the severity and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 covid 19 a retrospective cohort study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e041471.full
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