Table 2.
Inflammatory cytokines and lymphocyte subsets in deceased patients with COVID-19 on admission.
| Biomarker | Normal range | N, median (IQR) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All patients (254) | Survivors (203) | Nonsurvivors (51) | |||
| Inflammatory cytokines | |||||
| Interleukin-1β, pg/mL | <5 | 254, 5 (5-5) | 203, 5 (5-5) | 51, 5 (5-5) | 0.235 |
| Interleukin-2R, U/mL | 223-710 | 254, 644 (387-1105) | 203, 541 (350.0-868.0) | 51, 1220 (949-1861) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 19 (7.5%) | 19 (9.4%) | — | <0.001 | |
| Increased | 120 (47.2) | 112 (55.2) | 8 (15.7%) | ||
| Interleukin-6, pg/mL | <7 | 254, 8.15 (2.00-40.47) | 203, 4.9 (1.5-19.3) | 51, 58.5 (26.88-137.48) | <0.001 |
| Increased | 136 (53.5%) | 86 (42.4%) | 50 (98.0%) | <0.001 | |
| Interleukin-8, pg/mL | <62 | 254, 11.6 (5.1-24.0) | 203, 8.3 (5.0-18.0) | 51, 29.8 (20.6-70.7) | <0.001 |
| Increased | 20 (7.9%) | 6 (3.0%) | 14 (27.5%) | <0.001 | |
| Interleukin-10, pg/mL | <9.1 | 254, 5 (5-6.4) | 203, 5 (5-5) | 51, 9.8 (5.2-18.3) | <0.001 |
| Increased | 49 (19.3%) | 20 (9.9%) | 29 (56.9%) | <0.001 | |
| TNF-α, pg/mL | <8.1 | 254, 7.5 (5.2-11.2) | 203, 6.9 (4.7-10.3) | 51, 10.4 (7.5-14.8) | <0.001 |
| Increased | 93 (36.6%) | 65 (32.0%) | 28 (54.9%) | 0.003 | |
| Lymphocyte subsets | |||||
| T cells+B cells+NK cells, n/μL | — | 137, 1309.0 (862.5-1612.5) | 118, 1394 (1052.5-1654.2) | 19, 333 (171-748) | <0.001 |
| T cells, n/μL | 955-2860 | 137, 939 (534.5-1155.5) | 118, 976 (753.8-1188.2) | 19, 201 (122-392) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 71/137 (51.8%) | 53/118 (44.9%) | 18/19 (94.7%) | <0.001 | |
| B cells, n/μL | 90-560/μL | 137, 158.0 (81.5-250.5) | 118, 167.5 (100-254.5) | 19, 41 (30-126) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 39/137 (28.5%) | 27/118 (22.9%) | 12/19 (63.2%) | <0.001 | |
| Th cells, n/μL | 550-1440/μL | 137, 562.0 (330.0-761.5) | 118, 606.5 (466-796) | 19, 147 (84-249) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 65/137 (47.4%) | 48/118 (40.7%) | 17/19 (89.5%) | <0.001 | |
| Ts cells, n/μL | 320-1250/μL | 137, 270.0 (174.5-387.0) | 118, 294.5 (233.8-406.5) | 19, 54 (20-124) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 85/137 (62.0%) | 66/118 (55.9%) | 19/19 (100.0%) | <0.001 | |
| NK cells, n/μL | 150-1100/μL | 137, 153.0 (95.0-253.5) | 118, 172.5 (122-263.8) | 19, 35 (10-70) | <0.001 |
| Decreased | 64/137 (46.7%) | 47/118 (39.8%) | 17/19 (89.5%) | <0.001 | |
| Th/Ts ratio | 0.71-2.78 | 137, 2.06 (1.52-2.70) | 118, 2.00 (1.48-2.54) | 19, 3.32 (1.87-5.44) | <0.001 |
| Increased | 29/137 (21.2%) | 19/118 (16.1%) | 10/19 (52.6%) | <0.001 | |
N: number of patients; IQR: interquartile range; T cells: CD3 + CD19- T cells; B cells: CD3-CD19+ T cells; Th, helper T cells: CD3 + CD4+ T cells; Ts, suppressor T cells: CD3 + CD8+ T cells; NK cells: CD3-/CD16 + CD56+ T cells.