Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep 1;35(1):6-9.
doi: 10.1080/08998280.2021.1961571. eCollection 2022.

Relation of interleukin-6 levels in COVID-19 patients with major adverse cardiac events

Nicholas Nguyen  1 , Hao Nguyen  1 , Chijioke Ukoha  1 , Lawrence Hoang  1 , Chirag Patel  1 , Farukh G Ikram  1 , Priyanka Acharya  2 , Anmol Dhillon  1 , Manavjot Sidhu  3
Affiliations

Relation of interleukin-6 levels in COVID-19 patients with major adverse cardiac events

Nicholas Nguyen et al. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). .

Abstract

Elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels may correlate with disease severity in COVID-19. We analyzed whether there was an association between elevated IL-6 levels and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and/or mortality in COVID-19 patients. A retrospective chart review was performed on COVID-19 patients among four hospitals in one health system from March to May 2020, extracting information on baseline characteristics, MACE (i.e., myocardial infarction, stroke, deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, or shock requiring vasopressor support), mortality, and IL-6 levels. Of the 496 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 191 patients had an IL-6 level drawn and 68% had elevated IL-6 levels. The elevated IL-6 population had higher odds of developing a MACE compared to the normal IL-6 population (P < 0.0001, odds ratio [OR] = 5.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.65-14.11). The elevated IL-6 population also had higher mortality rates (28.2% vs 5%, P = 0.0001, OR = 7.47, 95% CI = 2.19-39.32) and an increased incidence of a MACE and/or mortality (58.78% vs 20.00%, P < 0.0001, OR = 5.7, 95% CI 2.65-12.83) compared to the normal IL-6 population. Elevated IL-6 levels in COVID-19 patients may be associated with MACE and/or mortality. Monitoring IL-6 levels in COVID-19 patients may help risk-stratify patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cardiovascular outcomes; MACE; SARS-CoV-2; interleukin-6; mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Retrospective cohort study flow chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University . Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center: COVID-19 dashboard. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. Accessed July 13, 2021.
    1. Nishiga M, Wang DW, Han Y, Lewis D, Wu J.. COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease: from basic mechanisms to clinical perspectives. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2020;17(9):543–558. doi:10.1038/s41569-020-0413-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Madjid M, Safavi-Naeini P, Solomon SD, Vardeny O.. Potential effects of coronaviruses on the cardiovascular system: a review. JAMA Cardiol. 2020;5(7):831–840. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2020.1286. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ruscitti P, Berardicurti O, Iagnocco A, Giacomelli R.. Cytokine storm syndrome in severe COVID-19. Autoimmun Rev. 2020;19(7):102562. doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2020.102562. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ulhaq ZS, Soraya GV.. Interleukin-6 as a potential biomarker of COVID-19 progression. Med Mal Infect. 2020;50(4):382–383. doi:10.1016/j.medmal.2020.04.002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources