Serum interleukin 1β and sP-selectin as biomarkers of inflammation and thrombosis, could they be predictors of disease severity in COVID 19 Egyptian patients? (a cross-sectional study)

Background: Thromboembolism was a chief cause of mortality in 70% of patients with COVID-19. Our objective was to see if serum interleukins 1 beta (IL-1β) and soluble platelets selectin (sP-selectin) could serve as novel markers of thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: This cross sectional study involved 89 COVID-19 patients who were recruited from 1st of February to 1st of May 2021. Clinical and laboratory data were collected, and chest imaging was performed. The levels of IL-1β and sP-selectin were assessed in all cases through ELISA kits. Comparisons between groups were done using an unpaired t-test in normally distributed quantitative variables. In contrast, a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used for non-normally distributed quantitative variables.

Results: Severe COVID-19 infection was associated with higher serum levels of CRP, Ferritin, LDH, D dimer, IL-1β and sP-selectin (P < 0.001) with significant correlation between levels of IL-1β and sP-selectin (r 0.37, P < 0.001), D-dimer (r 0.29, P 0.006) and Ferritin (r 0.5, p < 0.001). Likewise, a positive correlation was also found between levels of sP-selectin, D-dimer and Ferritin (r 0.52, P < 0.001) (r 0.59, P < 0.001). Imaging studies revealed that 9 (10.1%) patients developed venous and 14 (15.7%) developed arterial thrombosis despite receiving anticoagulant therapy. Patients with thrombotic events had significantly higher levels of IL-1β, sP-selectin and LDH serum levels. Meanwhile, there was no statistical significance between CRP, D-dimer or Ferritin levels and the development of thrombotic events.

Conclusion: IL-1β and sP-selectin levels can be promising predictors for severe COVID-19 infection and predictable thrombosis.