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Cited by 130COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesLong-Term Effects of COVID-19Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes

Role of interleukin 6 as a predictive factor for a severe course of Covid-19: retrospective data analysis of patients from a long-term care facility during Covid-19 outbreak

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Sabaka, P., Koščálová, A., Straka, I., Hodosy, J., Lipták, R., Kmotorková, B., Kachlíková, M., Kušnírová, A.·2021·BMC Infectious Diseases
DOI 10.1186/s12879-021-05945-8PMC PMC8006112

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Abstract

Background: Covid-19 is a disease with high morbidity and mortality among elderly residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF). During an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the LTCF an effective screening tool is essential to identify the patients at risk for severe disease. We explored the role of interleukin 6 (IL-6) as a predictor for severe disease during the outbreak of Covid-19 in one LTCF in Slovakia. Methods: We conducted a retrospective data analysis of cases of COVID-19, diagnosed during the outbreak in one LTCF in Slovakia between April 11, 2020, and May 5, 2020. Within 24 h after the diagnosis of Covid-19, clinical and laboratory screening was performed in the LTCF to identify patients in need of hospitalization. Patients with oxygen saturation below 90% were immediately referred to the hospital. Patients staying in the LFTC were monitored daily and those that developed hypoxemia were transferred to the hospital. We analyzed the association between the IL-6 at the initial assessment and development of hypoxemia during follow up and determined the cut-off of the IL-6 able to predict the development of hypoxemia requiring oxygen therapy. Results: Fifty-three patients (11 men, 42 women) with diagnosed Covid-19 were included in the analysis. 19 (53%) patients developed hypoxemia during the disease. Patients with hypoxemia had significantly higher concentrations of IL-6, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, fibrinogen, total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase at initial screening. ROC analyses identified IL-6 as the most robust predictor of hypoxemia. The concentration of IL-6 > 24 pg/mL predicted the development of hypoxemia with the sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 88.9%. The positive and negative predictive values were 76.9, and 100% respectively. Conclusions: The concentration of IL-6 > 24 pg/mL at initial assessment predicted the development of hypoxemia requiring hospitalization with excellent sensitivity and good specificity. IL-6 appears as a potential predictor for the development of the severe Covid-19 and might serve for early identification of patients in need of hospitalization. Further studies are needed to evaluate the robustness of the use of IL-6 as an effective screening tool for the severe course of Covid-19.

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  • Taurine has been linked to protection from inflammation in SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and reduces oxidative damage by formation of taurine haloamines.

    “In addition, taurine has been linked to protection from inflammation in SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and reduces oxidative damage by the formation of taurine haloamines.71,72”

    From Taurine lowers inflammaging by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages (2026) · cites this paper as [72]

    The Background and Discussion address COVID-19 inflammation and IL-6 as a marker of severe disease, but do not discuss taurine. Searches for taurine, taurine haloamines, and oxidative damage found no passage supporting either attributed effect. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Cited by

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Authors
Sabaka, P., Koščálová, A., Straka, I., Hodosy, J., Lipták, R., Kmotorková, B., Kachlíková, M., & Kušnírová, A.
Affiliations
  • Comenius University Bratislava (SK)
  • Slovak Medical University (SK)
  • University Hospital Bratislava (SK)
Corresponding author
Sabaka, P.
ORCID
Venue
BMC Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-03-29
Volume
21
Issue
1
Pages
308-308
ISSN
1471-2334 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12879-021-05945-8
PMC
PMC8006112
OpenAlex
W3113110940
Cited by
130
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 26
FWCI
9.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Infectious Diseases (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja (APVV-18-0287)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
Keywords
interleukin-6, COVID-19 pandemic, long-term care facilities, hypoxemia, disease severity prediction, prognostic factors, elderly residents, SARS-CoV-2, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, fibrinogen, early hospitalization, cytokine storm, hyperinflammation, liver enzymes, bilirubin
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Disease Outbreaks, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Long-Term Care, Male, Retrospective Studies, Severity of Illness Index, Interleukin-6

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