Nutritional Advice El MondoObjectives:
Studies reported associations of inflammatory markers with the severity of COVID-19, but conclusions were inconsistent. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.
Are inflammatory markers (procalcitonin (PCT), serum ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) positively correlated with the severity of COVID-19?
Study design:
This review article included a total of 16 studies comprising 3,962 patients with COVID-19. All of these studies were published in 2020 and from China.
All studies were deemed of high quality with 7 or more NOS scores.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found random-effect results demonstrated that patients with COVID-19 in nonsevere group had lower levels for
CRP [WMD = -41.78 mg/L, 95% CI = -52.43 to -31.13, p 0.001],
PCT [WMD = -0.13 ng/mL, 95% CI = -0.20 to -0.05, p 0.001],
IL-6 [WMD = -21.32 ng/L, 95% CI = -28.34 to -14.31, p 0.001],
ESR [WMD = -8 mm/h, 95% CI = -14 to -2, p = 0.005],
SAA [WMD = -43.35 μg/mL, 95% CI = -80.85 to -5.85, p = 0.020] and
serum ferritin [WMD = -398.80 mg/L, 95% CI = -625.89 to -171.71, p 0.001], compared with those in severe group.
These results were consistent through sensitivity analysis and publication bias assessment.
The investigators found, moreover, survivors had a lower level for IL-6 than non-survivors [WMD = -4.80 ng/mL, 95% CI = -5.87 to -3.73, p 0.001].
The investigators concluded inflammatory markers, especially CRP, PCT, IL-6 and ESR, are positively correlated with the severity of COVID-19. Measurement of inflammatory markers might assist clinicians to monitor and evaluate the severity and prognosis of COVID-19.
Original title:
Association of Inflammatory Markers With the Severity of COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis by Zeng F, Huang Y, […], Deng G.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7233226/
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on coronavirus right here.