In a new study, researchers have identified two markers of inflammation that reliably predict the severity of COVID-19 cases and the likelihood of survival.
When the pandemic began, the team of Mount Sinai scientists promptly implemented a rapid test to measure the levels of four cytokines associated with pathogenic inflammation, which were suspected to cause severity in COVID-19 patients.
In just one month, cytokine blood levels were tested in 1,484 patients upon admission to Mount Sinai Health System’s hospitals, and patients were followed for up to 41 days.
The researchers studied four proteins known as cytokines that circulate in the blood and are commonly associated with infections and found that two of them, called IL-6 and TNF-α, were able to predict which patients were likely to develop more severe forms of COVID-19 and die.
(Agencies )
