Proinflammatory Cytokines Are Associated with Prolonged Viral RNA Shedding in COVID-19 Patients

Overview

Journal Clin Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2020 Oct 17

PMID 33068796

Citations 15

Authors

Chun Gao

Li Zhu

Cheng Cheng Jin

Yi Xin Tong

Ai Tang Xiao

Sheng Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Since December 2019, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global pandemic. We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and analyzed the risk factors for prolonged viral RNA shedding. We retrospectively collected data from 112 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a single center in Wuhan, China. Factors associated with prolonged viral RNA shedding (≥28 days) were investigated. Forty-nine (43.8%) patients had prolonged viral RNA shedding. Patients with prolonged viral shedding were older and had a higher rate of hypertension. Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-2R (IL-2R) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were significantly elevated in patients with prolonged viral shedding. Multivariate analysis revealed that hypertension, older age, lymphopenia and elevated serum IL-2R were independent risk factors for prolonged viral shedding. This comprehensive investigation revealed the distinct characteristics between patients with or without prolonged viral RNA shedding. Hypertension, older age, lymphopenia and high levels of proinflammatory cytokines may be correlated with prolonged viral shedding.

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