Objective: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) causes symptoms that vary from asymptomatic to severe. The basis of the more severe condition is hypothesized to be an exaggerated immune response called cytokine release syndrome (CRS). One of the cytokines that play a major role is interleukin-6 (IL-6). An elevated level of IL-6 correlates with the amount of RNA SARS-CoV-2 in the blood (viremia) which is associated with severity and occurrence of complications. This study aims to compare serum IL-6 between the survivor and non-survivor of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: Eligible subjects were the confirmed COVID-19 adult patients who had their IL-6 serum levels measured before starting anti-IL-6 therapy. Data were collected retrospectively at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital from November 2020 to April 2021. A statistical comparison test was performed to compare the IL-6 serum levels of non-survivor and survivor groups. Results: There were 136 COVID-19 patients who met the inclusion criteria, with 89 survivors and 47 non-survivors. The Mann-Whitney comparison test revealed that the non-survivor group had higher median IL-6 levels than the survivor group (41.4 vs 10.8 pg/ml, p<0.001). Conclusion: IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the non-survivor than the survivor group of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The findings of this study can serve as a starting point for larger and more in-depth studies on the role of IL-6 in COVID-19.

survivor

COVID-19

interleukin-6

non-survivor