Pneumonia scoring systems for severe COVID-19: which one is better.

PURPOSE: To investigate the predictive significance of different pneumonia scoring systems in clinical severity and mortality risk of patients with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 53 cases of severe novel coronavirus pneumonia were confirmed. The APACHE II, MuLBSTA and CURB-65 scores of different treatment methods were calculated, and the predictive power of each score on clinical respiratory support treatment and mortality risk was compared. RESULTS: The APACHE II score showed the largest area under ROC curve in both noninvasive and invasive respiratory support treatment assessments, which is significantly different from that of CURB-65. Further, the MuLBSTA score had the largest area under ROC curve in terms of death risk assessment, which is also significantly different from that of CURB-65; however, no difference was noted with the APACHE II score. CONCLUSION: For patients with COVID, the APACHE II score is an effective predictor of the disease severity and mortality risk. Further, the MuLBSTA score is a good predictor only in terms of mortality risk.

Prognostic value of interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin in patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The inflammatory response plays a critical role in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and inflammatory cytokine storm increases the severity of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the ability of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) to predict mild and severe cases of COVID-19. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study included 140 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 18, 2020, to March 12, 2020. The study population was divided into two groups according to disease severity: a mild group (MG) (n = 107) and a severe group (SG) (n = 33). Data on demographic characteristics, baseline clinical characteristics, and the levels of IL-6, CRP, and PCT on admission were collected. RESULTS: Among the 140 patients, the levels of IL-6, CRP, and PCT increased in 95 (67.9 %), 91 (65.0 %), and 8 (5.7 %) patients on admission, respectively. The proportion of patients with increased IL-6, CRP, and PCT levels was significantly higher in the SG than in the MG. Cox proportional hazard model showed that IL-6 and CRP could be used as independent factors to predict the severity of COVID-19. Furthermore, patients with IL-6 > 32.1 pg/mL or CRP > 41.8 mg/L were more likely to have severe complications. CONCLUSION: The serum levels of IL-6 and CRP can effectively assess disease severity and predict outcome in patients with COVID-19.