• Fang Liu, Lin Li, MengDa Xu, Juan Wu, Ding Luo, YuSi Zhu, BiXi Li, XiaoYang Song, and Xiang Zhou.
• Department of Anesthesiology, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of PLA, Wuhan, China.
• J. Clin. Virol. 2020 Jun 1; 127: 104370.

BackgroundThe inflammatory response plays a critical role in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and inflammatory cytokine storm increases the severity of COVID-19.ObjectiveTo investigate the ability of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) to predict mild and severe cases of COVID-19.Study DesignThis retrospective cohort study included 140 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 18, 2020, to March 12, 2020. The study population was divided into two groups according to disease severity: a mild group (MG) (n = 107) and a severe group (SG) (n = 33). Data on demographic characteristics, baseline clinical characteristics, and the levels of IL-6, CRP, and PCT on admission were collected.ResultsAmong the 140 patients, the levels of IL-6, CRP, and PCT increased in 95 (67.9 %), 91 (65.0 %), and 8 (5.7 %) patients on admission, respectively. The proportion of patients with increased IL-6, CRP, and PCT levels was significantly higher in the SG than in the MG. Cox proportional hazard model showed that IL-6 and CRP could be used as independent factors to predict the severity of COVID-19. Furthermore, patients with IL-6 > 32.1 pg/mL or CRP > 41.8 mg/L were more likely to have severe complications.ConclusionThe serum levels of IL-6 and CRP can effectively assess disease severity and predict outcome in patients with COVID-19.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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