Abstract
Background and aims: Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 range from asymptomatic, to mild, moderate or severe disease evolution including fatal outcome. Thus, early predictors of clinical outcome are highly needed. We investigated markers of neural tissue damage as a possible early sign of multisystem involvement to assess their clinical prognostic value on survival or transfer to intensive care unit (ICU).
Methods: We collected blood from 104 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 the day of admission to the emergency room and measured blood neurofilament light chair (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), and total tau protein levels.
Results: We found that NfL, GFAP, and tau were significantly increased in patients with fatal outcome, while NfL and UCH-L1 in those needing ICU transfer. ROC and Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that total tau levels at admission accurately predict mortality.
Conclusions: Blood neural markers may provide additional prognostic value to conventional biomarkers used to predict COVID-19 outcome.
Keywords: COVID-19; GFAP; Neurofilament light chain; SARS-CoV-2; Tau; UCH-L1.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Tau, GFAp, neurofilament light chain, UCH-L1., 【초록키워드】 Evolution, Biomarker, Mortality, intensive care, intensive care unit, outcome, ICU, Clinical outcome, Protein, survival, ROC, Asymptomatic, Patient, Mild, predictor, Admission, moderate, predict, GFAp, Blood, emergency room, marker, neurofilament, severe disease, light chain, Prognostic value, tissue damage, Kaplan-Meier curves, transfer, Acidic, Kaplan-Meier curve, protein levels, significantly increased, collected, indicated, investigated, infected with SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 Patient, Admission, predict, death in COVID-19,