ABSTRACT
Introduction: COVID-19 is an acute, sometimes severe, respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus SARSCoV-2. Aims and objectives: This study aimed to investigate the severity of COVID-19 based on serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor. Method(s): This cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 patients with COVID-19. They diagnosed using the RTPCR test taken from the throat and nose. The patient's demographic information were extracted from patients' records. A 5-ml venous blood sample was taken from each patient. VEGF was measured with the ELISA method using the Hangzhou East biopharma VEGF ELIZA Kit. Result(s): The mean age of patients was 55.56+/-14.88 years old. Fifty percent were male. The most common clinical symptom in patients was shortness of breath (77.9%). The VEGF and CRP mean serum levels were 2877.07+/-104.77 ng/ml and 46.16+/-24.23 mm/hour, respectively. There was no significant relationship between VEGF levels and COVID-19 severity (P=0.55). The percentage of pulmonary involvement > 50 in the severe group (72.7%) was higher than that of the non-severe group (2.4%) (P=0.001). There was a significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and the levels of LDH, neutrophil/lymph ratio, and CRP. Regarding medications, Remdesivir was used more in the severe group (70.5%) than in the non-severe group (45.2%) (P=0.018). Conclusion(s): Although serum VEGF levels were higher in severe group than non-severe group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Therefore, these inflammatory markers can assist in the initial evaluation of COVID19. Physicians should monitor serum levels of LDH, neutrophil/lymph ratio, and CRP when admitting COVID-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 and can lead to acute respiratory distress. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between COVID-19 severity and serum apelin17 and inflammatory mediator levels. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with COVID-19. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by the RT-PCR test. The patients' data were extracted from their records. Venous blood samples were obtained from the patients to investigate the serum levels of apelin-17 and inflammatory mediators. Results: Eighty-six COVID-19 patients were studied. The mean age of the participants was 55.56±14.88, and 43 (50 %) were male. Clinical symptoms were dyspnea 77.6 %, fever 52.3 %, cough 48.8 %, gastrointestinal symptoms 15.1 %, and chest pain 7 %. The overall mortality rate was 7 %. No significant relationship was found between serum apelin-17 levels and COVID-19 severity (P= 0.48). However, there was a significant and direct relationship between COVID-19 severity and serum levels of CRP (P= 0.038) and D-dimer (P= 0.029). Conclusion: Serum apelin-17 levels were higher in recovered patients than those who died (4.90 vs. 3.19). Moreover, serum apelin-17 levels were higher in the patients admitted to the general ward than those admitted to the ICU (5.15 vs. 3.98). The difference was not statistically significant. However, there was a significant and direct relationship between serum apelin-17 levels and lymphocyte count (P= 0.022). Moreover, there was a significant and inverse relationship between lymphocyte count and COVID-19 severity (P= 0.004). Therefore, it can be interpreted that COVID-19 severity may decrease with an increase in serum apelin-17 levels. Therefore, to prove this hypothesis, a study with larger sample size is recommended.