Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

October 19, 2020

Cytokine Elevation in Severe and Critical COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Comparison with Other Inflammatory Syndromes

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Mean interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations among patients with severe COVID-19 were significantly lower than concentrations found among patients with other critical illnesses associated with elevated cytokine concentrations. A systematic review and meta-analysis compared COVID-19 studies in which IL-6 concentrations in patients with severe or critical disease were recorded with studies of sepsis, cytokine release syndrome, and acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19. Compared to the concentrations in patients with COVID-19, mean IL-6 concentrations were nearly 100 times higher in patients with cytokine release syndrome, 27 times higher in patients with sepsis, and 12 times higher in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19. 

Leisman et al. (Oct 2020). Cytokine Elevation in Severe and Critical COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Comparison with Other Inflammatory Syndromes. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30404-5