ABSTRACT
Prognostic characteristics inform risk stratification in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We obtained blood samples (n = 474) from hospitalized COVID-19 patients (n = 123), non-COVID-19 ICU sepsis patients (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 30). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA was detected in plasma or serum (RNAemia) of COVID-19 ICU patients when neutralizing antibody response was low. RNAemia was associated with higher 28-day ICU mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.84 [95% CI, 1.22–2.77] adjusted for age and sex). In longitudinal comparisons, COVID-19 ICU patients had a distinct proteomic trajectory associated with RNAemia and mortality. Among COVID-19-enriched proteins, galectin-3 binding protein (LGALS3BP) and proteins of the complement system were identified as interaction partners of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. Finally, machine learning identified ‘Age, RNAemia’ and ‘Age, pentraxin-3 (PTX3)’ as the best binary signatures associated with 28-day ICU mortality.