Frontiers in Immunology (Mar 2021)
Upregulated IL-6 Indicates a Poor COVID-19 Prognosis: A Call for Tocilizumab and Convalescent Plasma Treatment
- Jian Wu,
- Jiawei Shen,
- Ying Han,
- Qinghua Qiao,
- Qinghua Qiao,
- Wei Dai,
- Bangshun He,
- Bangshun He,
- Rongrong Pang,
- Rongrong Pang,
- Jun Zhao,
- Tao Luo,
- Yanju Guo,
- Yang Yang,
- Qiuyue Wu,
- Weijun Jiang,
- Jing Zhang,
- Mingchao Zhang,
- Mingchao Zhang,
- Na Li,
- Na Li,
- Weiwei Li,
- Xinyi Xia,
- Xinyi Xia
Affiliations
- Jian Wu
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Jiawei Shen
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Ying Han
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Qinghua Qiao
- Medical and Technical Support Department, Pingdingshan Medical District, The 989th Hospital Pingingshan, Pingdingshan, China
- Qinghua Qiao
- Joint Expert Group for COVID-19, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Blood Transfusion, Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, Wuhan, China
- Wei Dai
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Bangshun He
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Bangshun He
- General Clinical Research Center, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Rongrong Pang
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Rongrong Pang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing Red Cross Blood Center, Nanjing, China
- Jun Zhao
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Tao Luo
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Yanju Guo
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Yang Yang
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Qiuyue Wu
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Weijun Jiang
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Jing Zhang
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Mingchao Zhang
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Mingchao Zhang
- Institute of Blood Transfusion, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China
- Na Li
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Na Li
- Department of Blood Transfusion, Jingling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, China
- Weiwei Li
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Xinyi Xia
- COVID-19 Research Center, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Xinyi Xia
- Joint Expert Group for COVID-19, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Blood Transfusion, Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, Wuhan, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.598799
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of the dynamic changes in interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels is essential for monitoring and treating patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2). By analyzing the correlations between IL-6 levels and health conditions, underlying diseases, several key laboratory detection indices, and the prognosis of 1,473 patients with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the role of IL-6 during SARS-CoV-2 infection was demonstrated. Our results indicated that IL-6 levels were closely related to age, sex, body temperature, oxygen saturation (SpO2) of blood, and underlying diseases. As a stable indicator, the changes in IL-6 levels could indicate the inflammatory conditions during a viral infection. Two specific treatments, namely, tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy (CPT), decreased the level of IL-6 and relieved inflammation. CPT has an important role in the therapy for patients with critical COVID-19. We also found that patients with IL-6 levels, which were 30-fold higher than the normal level, had a poor prognosis compared to patients with lower levels of IL-6.
Keywords
