Table 2.
Comparison of serum MMPs, inflammation markers and blood cells at admission in controls and COVID-19 patients with different severity according to worst WHO stage for each patient.
| Controls | WHO 3 | WHO 4 | WHO 5–7 | Kruskal–Wallis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 48 | 52 | 36 | 20 | – |
| MMP3 (ng/mL) | 15.6 (11.2–24.4) | 14.5 (9.5–21.4) | 19.1 (13.7–35.0)b | 48.3 (21.4–77.9)a,b,c | < 0.0001 |
| MMP9 (ng/mL) | 333 (221–493) | 411 (305–535) | 468 (288–714)a | 431 (318–727)a | 0.048 |
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | 26.0 (19.8–41.9) | 28.7 (23.7–44.3) | 88.0 (29.2–256)a,b | 37.4 (29.2–169)a,b | < 0.0001 |
| IL-17A (pg/mL) | 2.0 (2.0–2.4) | 2.0 (2.0–3.9) | 2.6 (2.0–4.9) | 2.0 (2.0–3.5) | n.s |
| MPO (ng/mL) | 413 (249–548) | 371 (309–485) | 482 (307–887) | 352 (323–942) | n.s |
| hs-CRP (mg/L) | 1.0 (0.6–2.1) | 12.0 (5.5–23.0)a | 15.5 (8.3–70.8)a | 11.9 (2.3–75.5)a | < 0.0001 |
| Lymphocytes (N/mmc) | 1990 (1632–2300) | 1332 (888–1851)a | 1203 (812–1464)a | 579 (377–1238)a,b | < 0.0001 |
| Neutrophils (N/mmc) | 4180 (2970–4840) | 5642 (4249–6863) | 5126 (3174–7762) | 6298 (3029–9269)a,b | 0.013 |
| Monocytes (N/mmc) | 380 (295–510) | 503 (353–772) | 578 (405–813)a | 472 (280–827) | 0.014 |
Median and interquartile range.
ap < 0.01, versus controls; bp < 0.01, versus WHO 3; cp < 0.01, versus WHO 4. hs-CRP high sensitivity C-reactive protein, IL interleukin, MMP matrix metalloproteinase, MPO myeloperoxidase, n.s. not significant.