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Review
. 2020 Jun 16:11:1446.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01446. eCollection 2020.

The COVID-19 Cytokine Storm; What We Know So Far

Dina Ragab  1 , Haitham Salah Eldin  2 , Mohamed Taeimah  3 , Rasha Khattab  4 , Ramy Salem  1
Affiliations
Review

The COVID-19 Cytokine Storm; What We Know So Far

Dina Ragab et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is a rapidly spreading global threat that has been declared as a pandemic by the WHO. COVID-19 is transmitted via droplets or direct contact and infects the respiratory tract resulting in pneumonia in most of the cases and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in about 15 % of the cases. Mortality in COVID-19 patients has been linked to the presence of the so-called "cytokine storm" induced by the virus. Excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines leads to ARDS aggravation and widespread tissue damage resulting in multi-organ failure and death. Targeting cytokines during the management of COVID-19 patients could improve survival rates and reduce mortality.

Keywords: ARDS; COVID-19; IL-6; cytokine; storm.

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