high levels of circulating il-6 and il-8 signature can predict covid-19 severity

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) infection may trigger a cytokine storm, which is characterized by uncontrolled overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines. objectives: we aimed to investigate the association between circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). methods: this cross-sectional study included 46 severe and 32 mildly symptomatic covid-19 patients. the serum levels of cytokines and chemokines were determined using the bio-plex pro™ human cytokine screening panel. results: out of a total of 78 patients with confirmed covid-19, 54 (69.2%) were males, and 24 (30.8%) were females. the mean age was 43.1 ± 13.3 and 58.2 ± 15 in mild and severe patients, respectively. severe patients were characterized by significant laboratory abnormalities, such as increased wbc (p = 0.002) and neutrophil counts (p = 0.001), higher levels of alt (p = 0.03), ast (p = 0.002), ldh (p < 0.001), urea (p = 0.013), ferritin (p < 0.001), d-dimer (p = 0.042), crp (p < 0.001), and decreased lymphocyte (p < 0.001) and platelet (p = 0.045) counts. the levels of il-6, il-8, il-13, tnf-α, ifn-γ, mip-1β, and mcp-1 increased in the severe group compared to the mild group. however, significant differences were observed only for il-6 (p < 0.001) and il-8 (p < 0.001) levels. conclusions: serum il-6 and il-8 levels can be used as potential prognostic biomarkers of disease severity in covid-19 patients.