Inflammatory laboratory findings associated with severe illness among hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 in Medan, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains a global health problem. COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia have a higher risk for critical illness, mostly complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome. The inflammatory response is critical, and the cytokine storm increases the severity of COVID-19. Many factors could be associated with a cytokine storm but they are incompletely understood. This study presents characteristics of COVID-19 patients and explore the clinical and inflammatory parameters of severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in all severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. Peripheral blood was taken for laboratory examination within 24 hours of admission. Haematologic parameters, serum electrolyte, renal function, liver function, pancreas enzyme, D-dimer, inflammatory cytokines interferon (IFN)-gamma, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed in this study. Comparative analyses were done between sex, existing comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), and COVID-19 vaccination status. Results: A total of 80 subjects were included in the study. The most frequent comorbidities found among the subjects were obesity (36.35%) and diabetes (22.5%). Only 13.75% of subjects were vaccinated. Laboratory results indicated leucocytosis and neutrophilia, with a neutrophil-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) of 7. The mean inflammatory findings (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, MCP-1), D-dimer, CRP, and lipase increased. Lipase levels were higher in men (p = 0.003) and in comorbidity groups. No significant differences were found among different BMI groups. Lipase, IL-6, and MCP-1 levels were significantly higher (p=0.019, <0.0001, and 0.03, respectively) in the non-vaccinated group. Conclusions: Most patients with severe COVID-19 have comorbidities and increased inflammatory markers.